


Hydra's Tale

by Chromite



Series: Pearl Fight Club [4]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Backstory, Caves, Drawing, Gem weapon, Mention of a Hessonite, Origin Story, Pearl Fight Club AU, Ring Champion, alien creature, coastline, descriptions of environments, forest, mountain, planning things out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-31
Updated: 2020-02-03
Packaged: 2020-04-05 05:50:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 23,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19042396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chromite/pseuds/Chromite
Summary: The history of Hydra, Ring Champion of No rules fighting.





	1. Her story so far

Hydra is a three headed red Pearl, an "Off-Color". Her normal appearance has her body clad in red armor except her heads, her gem nestled between her shoulder blades on her back. All three heads have long hair, wavy when not braided. Hydra prefers keeping the hair from her three heads braided together into one long strand. Her main trick in the ring is shapeshifting, her form changing into a large three headed dragon with no wings, four times the size she starts at. Her armor becomes thick scales covering her body, capable of deflecting shots too weak to pierce her shapeshifted hide. Her three heads become filled with sharp teeth, she enjoys biting down on her opponent's limbs to make them surrender. 

When Hydra removes her armor, her outfit is a plain orange leotard with yellow boots. Her gem weapon is a red microphone, cordless now, but it had started with a cord. The microphone is capable of sending out burst of energy to attack her foes. 

Hydra had been intended as a gift for a Hessonite, but was deemed unfit due to her "Off-Color" nature. Below is a detailed account of her first moments alive: 

>The orange stone wall shook as rumbling resounded through it, energy building up within. A large explosion sent pieces of orange rock flying everywhere, red smoke pouring from the hole as a thin figure emerged from the hole, her red head sticking out of the thick cloud of smoke.  
>A Peridot stared at the new Pearl's head emerging from the smoke. "Oh stars, you're not suppose to be red, you're suppose to be orange! And what's with that hair, it should be poofy! Stars, Hessonite will never accept this!"  
>"She won't? Is my color that bad?" a chill went down the Peridot's form as she heard a voice speak, a voice that didn't originate from the head she saw poking out of the smoke. Her fear was realized as the smoke cleared away, giving her a good look at the full form of the Pearl before her. Her orange leotard was the only detail correct about her. Her red skin, her yellow boots, her hair style, her gem placement, they were all wrong, but they weren't the Peridot's main concern anymore. She stared in horror as she caught sight of the Pearl's three heads.  
>"This.......this is a disaster! Stars, we can't even use you as a secondary gift! If anyone finds out about this, they'll-"  
>A screen popped up behind the Peridot. The face of a Hessonite appeared upon the screen, smiling widely. "Peridot, I just got a notification that my new Pearl has emerged! I want to see her, let me see her!" giddy excitement flowed through the Hessonite's voice.  
>"Stars, H-hessonite! F-forgive me, but there's, your Pearl isn't.....s-something went wrong with the manufacturing process or incubation!"  
>The Hessonite's eyes narrowed at the Peridot. "What do you mean something went...." she trailed off as she caught sight of the Off-Color Pearl behind the Peridot. "What is that abomination behind you? Don't tell me that's the Pearl I ordered?!"  
>"I'll get a new one made for you, I promise! I'll make you two even! Please, don't report this, I'll.....dispose of the abomination myself."  
>"You had better fix this fast Peridot, you have one cycle to correct this or I report your incompetence. Send me her shards as proof when you finish breaking her." The screen closed, leaving the Peridot standing there. She turned towards the Pearl, grabbing a destabilizer off the table.  
>The red Pearl's minds reeled in confusion. She was wrong? She was an abomination? What was so bad about her, were her extra heads that bad? Was her color that unacceptable? She didn't want to stick around for whatever the Peridot had planned. The gem on her back glowed as a microphone head appeared from it. She could feel the object lodged in her back, she desperately reached behind her to grab it,  
>A cord stretched from her microphone to her gem, lengthening as she pulled it in front of her and clutched it tightly in both hands. The Peridot chuckled as she saw the Pearl's "weapon". "Hah, you clod! What are you going to do with that, sing me to death? Stand still and I promise you won't feel any pain, I'll make it quick."  
>"No! I won't let you!" The three heads cried out in unison, hoisting the microphone to her mouth. A burst of energy surged forward in a wave, connecting with the Peridot. Her green form took on a splash of red, her eyes widening in shock before her form gave way, leaving her gem to clatter to the ground, a small red spot appearing on the stone.  
>A small red orb floated in front of the three headed Pearl where the Peridot had been standing, hovering for a moment before it rushed towards her. The Pearl braced herself for the inevitable impact.  
>As the red orb connected with her form, she felt a small burst of power well up within her, instead of the pain she had been expecting. Her mind reeled with confusion for a moment.  
>"What was that thing? Why did it make me feel......better, stronger?" She thought to herself before shaking her three heads. "I'll figure this out later, I need to get out of here!"  
>The red Pearl grabbed the Peridot's gem before she fled the area, her microphone vanishing from her hands. She didn't know what was happening, but she knew the Peridot was her best bet in figuring it out.

Hydra faced off against Hessie, an orange Pearl that was everything Hydra was suppose to be. Hessie seemed to know what Hydra was, and seemed to be looking for her. Hydra was deeply conflicted at having to crack the orange Pearl's gem to win.


	2. Getting answers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hydra finds a place to hide to wait for the Peridot to reform. She needs answers and the Peridot will give them to her, one way or another.

>The three headed Pearl fled through the rocky landscape, away from the orange stone wall she had emerged from, clutching the gem of the Peridot who had wanted to destroy her tightly. Her mind was still reeling as she fled, why would any gem want her destroyed? Why was the Peridot so afraid of the gem she called Hessonite? Why didn't the Hessonite want her? She was loathe to keep someone around who had wanted to harm her, but the Peridot was her best bet in getting the answers she needed.   
>The Pearl came across a large hole in the ground, a natural cavern, deep and dark. She hesitated for a moment before she heard shouting coming from where she had just run from. Fear surged through her as she quickly moved into the opening. She had to get out of the light, she had to find a place to hide away from the peers of the Peridot she had poofed.   
>Deeper into the cave she went, fumbling her way through the darkness the first few feet before her eyes adjusted to it. At every junction she hit in the caves, she tossed a handful of rocks down one of the paths she didn't take. She was hoping the rocks would lead any pursuers away from her.  
>After a few dozen path choices, the Pearl slumped down against a cave wall wearily, her legs in desperate need of rest. She looked at the Peridot's gem wearily, this was as good a place as any to get her answers. The Pearl reached towards her back gem with her free hand, the glow from it painting the cave a deep red as the microphone entered her left hand. She pulled it back around in front of her, the cord still connecting to her gem, still giving off a faint glow of light. She sat the Peridot down upon the ground and slid the gem away from her, the red spot upon the green gem facing up.  
>The Peridot's gem began to glow as it rose into the air, the green light outshining the faint red glow. The Peridot's body took shape, starting with the left arm where her gem was located, the light expanding rapidly to form the arm and the hand, blending into the torso, then spreading up to form her head and pentagonal hair while also spreading down and right to form her legs, feet, and her other arm and hand.   
>The Peridot's body stopped glowing, the room once more lit solely by the light red glow, the green coloring settling back onto the Peridot's form, with one noticeable exception. Where her torso had once been pure green with a yellow diamond upon her chest, the diamond and a small area around it were now stained red, the same color as the Pearl's skin. The Peridot looked down upon herself in disbelief, her hands rubbing on the red spot, desperate to remove the abnormal shade, her rubbing growing more frantic and faster as the spot failed to fade.  
>After a few moments of rubbing, her hands stopped. She caught sight of the red spot on her gem, her eyes widening in fear. Her arms dropped to her sides as she started to laugh nervously. The nervous laughter soon devolved into loud sobs.   
>The Pearl looked at the Peridot in confusion. Her right head spoke out. "What's wrong?" The left spoke. "Why are you crying?" The middle spoke. "Why were you rubbing the spot on your uniform?"  
>The Peridot lifted her head and glared at the Pearl, tears still flowing freely. "You! You did this to me! You made me Off-Color! I, I can never go back to my superiors again! I'd be shattered on the spot! You've ruined my existence!"   
>The Pearl's three heads looked at the Peridot in confusion. The middle head spoke once more. "What do you mean, Off-Color? Why is that so bad?"  
>The Peridot falters for a moment. "You.....Off-Colors are flawed gems, unfit to serve the Great Diamond Authority! Such gems are a waste of time, space, and resources, their gems shattered and repurposed into energy sources, or materials harvested and purified to help create new gems."  
>"But why is having three heads or being the wrong color so bad? Why am I to be hated for how I emerged, without being given a chance to serve a purpose! What makes you worth less now that you have a bit of red on you?!"   
>"That's! You.....you wouldn't understand, you're a freshly emerged gem! Stars, you're a Pearl, you shouldn't be asking these questions, even if you are Off-Color! How did I go so wrong with your formula?!"  
>The Pearl gritted the teeth on all three of her heads, her anger was rising once more. All three of her heads shouted in unison in frustration. "WHO ARE YOU TO DECIDE IF I'M A MISTAKE?!" Her microphone began glowing a bright red in her hands, lighting the cave up further.  
>The Peridot's eyes widened in panic. "Wait, wait, you, you need me! I'm your best shot at getting off this planet alive!"  
>The Pearl snapped out of her anger, confusion taking its place. "What do you mean, get off planet?"  
>"Look, whether it's fair or not, you're Off-Color, and now so am I. If we're going to survive, we need to get off this planet and go somewhere gems aren't present! Keep me formed, and I promise to help you. There's nothing left for me here as I am."  
>The Pearl thought for a moment. Could she really trust this Peridot, the one who thought she was wrong? After a moment, she made her choice.  
>"Okay.....okay, we'll get off the planet together. After that, we find a way to go our separate ways. Deal?"  
>"Deal. Our first move is figuring out how to get a ship. We'll need to get out of this cave and get closer to an area with a heavier concentration of gems. It's going to be dangerous."  
>The Pearl shrugged her shoulders. "No worse than staying here, we'll be found sooner or later, right?"  
>"Fair point. Let's get going."  
>The Pearl put her hand roughly on the Peridot's shoulder, their heights even. She turned the Peridot around and looked strait into her eyes.   
>"Let's get one thing strait. I make the final choices. You are here because you have knowledge I lack, and that's all. If I suspect you of any tricks, I will poof you with this!" The Pearl shoves her microphone in the Peridot's face for emphasis. "Are we clear?"  
>"S-sapphire vision clear! Peridot, Facet 1H3B Cut 9D3M, at your service."   
>"Good to hear Peridot. Let's be on our way."  
>The Pearl turned her body away from the Peridot and began walking through the tunnels to find an exit. The Peridot followed behind her at a distance, looking down at the red spot on her form once more. She could figure out how to get rid of it, she was sure. For now, she just had to play along with the Off-Color Pearl.


	3. An inspiring encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Pearl and the Peridot escape the cave system and try to find their way towards gem ships. Along the way, an encounter leads to inspirations.

>The three headed Pearl and the Peridot slowly made their way out of the cave they were hiding in and back to the surface. All the while, the Peridot considered what she could do to break away from the Pearl and return herself to normal or hide her discoloration.   
>As they exited the cave back tot he surface, the Pearl's left and right heads looked aroind in wonder at the red grass beneath her feet, the blue trees standing tall, orange leafs fluttering in the wind, a few dead green leafs falling gently to the ground, twirling as they fell. The Pearl and the Peridot realized they didn't come back out where they had went in. "Must have been a large cave system." The Peridot muttered under her breath.  
>"This planet is so pretty." The left head spoke out in wonder.  
>"So many lovely colors. I wish I could see more." The right head sighed wistfully.  
>"I'll have to find a planet as pretty as this one to settle down on. But first, the ship." The middle head of the Off-Color Pearl looked at the Peridot, then continued speaking in a stern tone. "Which way do we need to go?"  
>The Peridot looked around, hesitating for a moment before she settled on telling the truth. She didn't have a plan yet, it wasn't the time to try and deceive the Pearl. "It's this way. If I remember this planet's layout correctly, we should be able to travel through this dense cluster of trees, over a mountain, and then from the top we should be able to see a wide open area where ships land to deliver supplies." The Peridot let out a sigh "I can't be sure however, I rarely left the lab. All I have to go on is the accounts of the gems who brought materials to the lab itself"  
>The three headed Pearl looked at the Peridot with all three of her heads before sighing and shrugging. "It's good enough for now. Finding a mountain is a solid plan regardless of this planet's layout. Let's go." The Pearl began walking towards the forest, her left and right heads still looking over the environment in wonder, while the Peridot followed behind, rubbing at the red spot on her form once more in a vain hope that this time would be different and cursing under her breath as she was met with another failure. the branches snapped and the leaves crunched under their feet as they stepped into the forest.  
>After an hour of weaving through the forest's blue trees, the pair stopped in their tracks as they heard a strange cry in the distance, followed by the sound of branches snapping quickly in large quantities. The Peridot's eyes widened in fear as she realized the sound of the snaps was getting closer to them. "Oh stars, something's coming for us! RUN!!!" The Peridot sprinted off through the woods, the Pearl running after her after a moment of hesitation, her three heads calling out in unison. "HEY!!! Don't leave me behind, wait for me!"   
>The Pearl soon caught up to the Peridot and slowed herself down slightly to match her pace. Their hearts leapt for joy when they saw an opening in the trees ahead of them, a large orange mountain towering over the forest trees and casting it's shadow away from the forest. Both picked up their pace as they heard a loud screech behind them, the snapping of branches replaced by the loud cracking of tree trunks toppling over and colliding with each other. Fear made the Pearl instinctively summon her microphone, to be ready in case she needed it.  
>The pair exited the forest and came across a large orange wall in front of them, a wide fissure in the wall leading inward. "Quickly, in there!" The Peridot shouted out as she kept going towards the fissure. The Pearl hesitated for a brief moment before following her, not wanting to separate from a source of information. The pair made split second decisions every time the path split, left, right, strait, right, right, middle left, strait, left, far right, far left. Their choices soon led them to a dead end with no way forward.   
>The Peridot shouted out in frustration as the Pearl's six eyes widened. "Stars, a dead end! We need to get back and choose another path, before-"  
>The Peridot was cut off by the sight of a large form lumbering into the passage, blocking off their escape. It stood four times as tall as the Pearl and Peridot both, its form a dark grey color, three reptilian heads on top of three large necks, sharp teeth filling it's maw, huge claws tipped its feet, its hide covered in thick scales. Its three heads licked their lips as the creature slowed itself down, creeping ever closer to the two gems.  
>The Peridot whispered out. "Stars, no, not like this. Not like this......" before she reached towards her gem, desperately trying to pull a weapon from it like she had seen the Pearl do, like she had seen countless quartz soldiers do before that. Her efforts were met with a faint glow from her gem and nothing else. She spoke out in a defeated tone. "This is it......this is where I break."  
>The Pearl stepped in front of the Peridot, holding her microphone up to her mouths. Her middle head whispered out. "I hope this works." before her three heads cried into the microphone in unison.  
>The microphone in the Pearl's hands glowed for a moment as the monster looked at the small Pearl in amusement. The glow grew brighter as the Peridot's body began glowing a light red, some of the discoloration fading away as the glow grew brighter, the Peridot slumping down to her knees and crying out weakly in pain as she felt her strength, her energy, flow out of her body. The Pearl meanwhile felt a surge of strength as an energy ball formed in front of her microphone, her three heads still screaming out as the ball grew bigger, before launching towards the monster.  
>The energy ball launched away from the microphone and towards the beast, the shout of the Pearl echoing from it as it flew. With a loud bang, the energy ball impacted, sending the monster backwards and crashing into the wall behind it. Cracks formed around where the monster was driven into the wall, rocks began tumbling down from an opening in the passage. The rocks grew larger and more numerous as the creature tried to dislodge itself from the wall, only to be met with the crushing weight of rocks piling on top of it. It let out a cry on anguish as it was buried alive.   
>The Pearl watched as the rock piling slowed down and stopped, the resulting pile forming an easy way for her and the Peridot to climb up. Her middle head cried out. "It worked! I can't believe I beat that thing! Peridot did you....oh no!" She trailed off and shouted out in concern as she saw the Peridot slumped down behind her, breathing heavily and sweating, her left arm gem glowing a dull green as a few of the red spots vanished from it.   
>The Pearl rushed over and held the Peridot gently in her arms. "Are you okay? Come on, stay with me, we're safe! I still need your help to get off this planet!"   
>The Peridot snapped out of her haze and looked at the Pearl, behind her at the rock-slide, and then at her own left arm at her gem. "I.....I'm not broken? M-my gem, some of the spots are......" She glanced down at the spot on her chest where the red marred her normal green, and noticed it had reduced in size. "What, what did you do? I felt so......weak, like energy was being drained from my body. Whatever it is you did, it took some of the discoloration away."  
>The middle head stammered out. "I, I don't know, I, I just shouted into my microphone to try and attack it and scare it off. I didn't think it'd be strong enough to send it into the wall!"  
>The left head spoke up. "That thing, it had three heads like I do......is it why you were so afraid of me to begin with?"  
The right head spoke up. "What was that thing anyways? When I hit it, I felt......like I could feel what it was feeling. It felt like sadness, like it had lost something important."  
>The Peridot looked at the Pearl's heads before settling on the middle one. "That thing was a hydra, a nasty organic that lives on this planet. Even the finest Quartz soldiers fear them, they're capable of taking out small quads without suffering so much as a scratch. For you to send it flying back......" The Peridot shuddered at the thought. "Whatever you did, whatever that was that made me feel weak, it saved our lives."  
>"A hydra......" her left head whispered out in wonder.  
>"Such a simple name......" the right head spoke a little louder, but still in a hushed tone of awe.  
>"Yet gems fear it, fear the strength of the beast behind it......" the middle head spoke out slightly louder. "If I'm going to be hunted for being myself, if gems are going to consider me wrong......perhaps I should make them think twice."  
>The Peridot looked at the Pearl in confusion. "What are you saying? You WANT gems to fear you?"  
>A smile crossed the lips of all three heads before they whispered in unison. "Yes.....I want gems to fear me, like they do that beast." The middle head continued on alone. "I want that name. I want to be a symbol of fear. I want to be Hydra, the Pearl all gems fear."  
>The Peridot's eyes widened. "You....you can't be serious! You're just a Pearl, you got lucky here today! No gem will ever-"  
>"ENOUGH!" Hydra's heads shouted in unison as she grabbed on to the Peridot's outfit, right at the red spot. "You WILL call me Hydra from now on. I WILL get off this planet and make others afraid to come after me! It's the only way.....the only way I can stay intact!" Hydra slowly lowered the Peridot back to the ground. "I'm right, aren't I? If I escape and gems aren't afraid of me.....they'll hunt me down."  
>The Peridot nodded glumly. "You're right. Fine, Hydra it is. I suppose it's fitting in a way. Well Hydra, what now?"  
>Hydra motioned over to the rock pile. "What else? That pile blocked off the way we came, we use it to climb up, then we find a way to keep going up the mountain to the peak." Hydra began walking towards the rubble, thinking to herself. "I need more than the name. I need to have the form too." Her gem glowed red as she tried shifting part of her form, her hand twisting slightly into a red scaly claw before fading back to her normal Pearl fingers. "Maybe I need to rest, that fight did take a lot out of me.....and maybe out of Peridot too. I hope I don't accidentally hurt her too much."  
>The Peridot watched with wide eyes behind Hydra as she followed the Off-color Pearl and saw her attempt at shape-shifting. "Stars, is she trying to reshape herself into that monster? Great, way to go Peridot, you had to tell her she was right. Stars help us both." She thought to herself, shaking her head. "At least part of my discoloration faded. I need to get her to do those blasts more, and hope the rest of this red fades from my form." Peridot nodded to herself as she began climbing up the pile behind Hydra. Both gems had their goals in mind now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More of Hydra's powers and abilities displayed, and she chose her name. More of both gems' personalities shine through here, and you see the starts of how Hydra came to be what she is in the first chapter of the main Fight Club series.


	4. Scaling the mountain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Peridot and Hydra make their way up to the top of the mountain. The pair have a little talk while on the way up.

>Hydra and the Peridot proceeded to climb up the orange rock-slide, Hydra leading the way with the Peridot following close behind. It took the pair a half hour to climb up the incline of rocks and reach the top.   
>At the top of the rock slide, they found themselves on a plateau, a flat expanse that allowed them to walk freely. The pair took a moment to look towards the portion of the mountain that was below them, saw the sharp incline leading into the line of orange treetops below. Then the pair looked up towards the peak of the mountain, saw they still had about three fourths of the mountain to climb.   
>Hydra's three heads sighed in unison as they eyed the mountain, her body starting to cry out for rest. She looked over to the Peridot, who was still panting from the combination of the climb up the rock-slide and having her energy drained from her body.   
>Hydra's heads sighed again before her left head spoke out. "I think we could both use a break."  
>Her right head spoke out, her right hand pointing to a spot. "Let's get over to that steep incline and rest."  
>Her middle head spoke out. "We can regain our energy before we look for an easier way up and resume climbing." Hydra began walking over towards the spot she had pointed to, slumping down against the steep incline of the mountain as she arrived, laying her three heads back and closing the eyes on her left and right heads, her middle head remaining vigilant. .   
>The Peridot hesitated for a moment before heading over to where Hydra was, sitting her body next to Hydra before closing her eyes and laying her head against the incline.   
>The pair sat in silence for a few minutes before the Peridot opened her eyes and looked over at Hydra. "Hydra, I have a favor to ask of you."  
>Hydra's middle head turned and looked at the Peridot, letting out a soft chuckle of amusement. "You want to ask me a favor, after trying to destroy me? What makes you think I'll do anything for you?"  
>The Peridot flinched before she continued. "I know, I have no right to ask, but please, hear me out. That attack you did against the organic hydra, it drained some of the discoloration from my body. I......I want you to do more of those attacks, after we escape the planet if nothing else."  
>Hydra thought for a moment before her middle head spoke again. "You're hoping the discoloration will go away if I do it enough, aren't you? You want to go back to the way you were before."  
>The Peridot nodded her head. "Yes, I do."  
>"Why do you want to go back so badly? Surrounded by people who'll destroy you if you're not exactly the way they want you to be.......how can you stand it?" Hydra's middle head continued speaking as her left and right heads still rested against the mountain.  
>The Peridot hesitated. "I, I belonged there, I had a purpose. Being out here, trying to escape from everything I've always known......it feels wrong, being away from it all."   
>"But why? Why not get out on your own, do what you want to, build what you want to? You must realize you could have a life free of the worry of being destroyed."  
>"I......" The Peridot shook her head in disagreement. "I won't be destroyed, I only have one mistake to my name. One mistake over my thousands of years of service, through Era One and now in Era Two. They......they'll understand."   
>Hydra's other two heads stirred, her left and right heads looking at the Peridot now, all three sets of eyes narrowing at the Peridot. Her left head spoke out. "One mistake, you mean me."  
>Her right head spoke out. "I hate that you consider me a mistake. I hate other gems would agree with you."  
>Her middle head spoke. "How can you be sure they won't break you for making me? You know what I plan to do. You know I plan on becoming feared. Will they really be so forgiving of you?"  
>The Peridot's eyes widened in shock. "I, that is, they'll!" her mind reeled at what Hydra had just said. The Peridot had never considered the ramifications of helping Hydra escape from the planet alone, never considered how other gems would react when they found out who created her.   
>All three of Hydra's heads smiled, before her middle head spoke out. "Well, you have time to think about what you really want, Peridot, and if it's worth the risk of going back to them. As for your request......I'll do what I can, but.......despite everything you've said and done, all you've implied about me, I still don't want to see you hurt unnecessarily. If performing my attacks is too painful, if it puts your gem at risk......I won't continue."  
>The Peridot looked at Hydra in surprise. "You......don't want me to get hurt? Why?"  
>"Hydra looked away for a moment before her left head spoke. "I don't like knowing I'm the reason for someone or something feeling pain."  
>Her right head spoke. "I know I'll need to make gems fear me, but it doesn't mean I'll like doing it."  
>Her middle head spoke. "I'll do my best to do as little damage to gems as I can during our escape, while still making them fear me. Other gems.......they have enough to worry about without me complicating things too much."  
>It was Peridot's turn to chuckle. "You're too sweet for your own good. But thanks, for agreeing to try and help me. It means a lot to me."  
>Hydra stood up, her middle head speaking. "That's enough rest I think. Come on, let's get up this mountain."  
>The Peridot nodded in agreement as they both walked along the plateau, scanning the incline for an easier way up. After a few minutes of walking, they saw a stretch of mountainside with several natural ledges, areas they could rest on when they needed to. Up the pair climbed, their fingers clinging to the rocks as their muscles strained from the climb. Hydra and the Peridot climbed side by side, Hydra had insisted on it, not wanting to cause the Peridot to fall from her climb.  
>After four grueling hours of climbing, with one break on a ledge, the pair had managed to scale the mountain, standing on top of the large flat expanse at the top, their view of the surrounding area uninhibited.  
>The Peridot and all three of Hydra's heads gasped as they looked around at the planet's surface. They could see the orange mountainside going into the orange treetops below, spots of green and blue along the treetops where the leaves were dead, dying, and falling. Past the forest surrounding the mountain sat a large expanse of red grass, forming slight slopes indicating several hillsides on the horizon. To the left of the mountain sat a large expanse of purple liquid, ebbing and flowing against a black shoreline that faded as the red grass overtook the blackened sand.   
>The Peridot spoke out in wonder. "Wow, this place is so pretty. I can't believe I never got to see it before now......."  
>Hydra's three heads smiled before her left head spoke out. "See what you could be doing? See what you could experience?"  
>Her right head spoke. "You could do whatever you want Peridot. You could be free."  
>Her middle head spoke. "It's still your choice, but I really do hope you will think about it carefully while we're trying to get to a ship. Now where....ah, over there!" Hydra pointed excitedly as she caught a few dots on the horizon rising into the air,   
>The Peridot looked at the area Hydra was pointing at and nodded. "Exactly where I heard it'd be. Next to this planet's ocean. Why they have the landing area so far from the laboratories is beyond my comprehension. You'd think they'd land right next to where they were going!" The Peridot spoke out in frustration, causing Hydra's three heads to giggle.   
>Hydra's heads nodded before her middle head spoke. "I agree, it doesn't make sense, but at least we have a direction to go. Let's rest up here for a moment before we climb back down the mountain."  
>Hydra and the Peridot sat at the top of the mountain, a destination in mind, taking a moment to enjoy the view of the planet and regain their strength once more. Hydra was more certain of her choices, that she needed to make other gems fear her and escape from the planet. The Peridot, on the other hand, was no longer as sure as she had been, doubts creeping into her mind of how good an idea it really was to try and rejoin other gems if she did manage to return to an unmarred state of color. After an hour of rest, the pair descended down the mountain in the direction of their end goal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think it's important to show here, that while Hydra wants gems to fear her, she still doesn't want to hurt anyone too badly in the process.


	5. Following the flow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hydra and her Peridot companion find a river to follow to the shore.

>Hydra and Peridot had managed to descend the mountain in three hours without issue, the climb down far easier on their bodies than the climb up. The pair sat down at the base of the mountain to regain their strength.   
>"Hydra, I have a suggestion to make that'll ease our trip."  
>Hydra's three heads perked up and looked at Peridot, her middle head speaking out. "I'm listening."  
>"You see that stream running over there?" Peridot pointed a short distance to their left to a purple stream running from an opening in the mountain, the water cascading gently down the mountainside and into the forest. "We can follow that to the ocean and go up the coast to get to the ships. No chance of getting lost in the forest, and it'll hopefully shorten our time within. After that, it's a gentle walk along the sand until we get closer."   
>Hydra looked at the stream and thought for a moment before looking back over to Peridot, nodding her heads. "Sounds reasonable." her three heads chimed in unison.  
>With a new course set, the pair followed the stream's right bank through the forest. As they walked along the curves, Hydra began to practice her shapeshifting again, once more trying to twist her form into something gems would fear. She managed to get both of her hands looking closer, small claws extending from her fingertips and the scales growing in thicker, before she couldn't hold it anymore and slipped back to her default. Hydra let out a sigh of frustration from all three of her heads.  
>"Hey, Peridot? How much do you know about changing your form?" her left head asked, all three heads looking back at Peridot.  
>"I can get my hands looking a little different, but it's not enough." her right head spoke in an irritated tone.  
>"How am I going to get gems to fear me if I can't look the part?!" her middle head cried out in frustration.  
>"Sorry to say, you're asking the wrong gem for full body transformation. We Era One Peridots can shift our fingers into specific tools we need to work with, but Era Two innovation has made such practices mostly obsolete." Peridot demonstrated by shifting her right index finger into a flathead screwdriver before grimacing and shifting it back. "That's as much as I can do."  
>"So it's hopeless? There's nothing I can do?" Her middle head spoke out while tears welled up in her left and right heads, disappointment and realization setting it.  
>"I didn't say that. You got further this time, right? More practice could be all you need. Or......there's an alternative, but you won't like it."  
>"Go on." her three heads spoke in unison, giving Peridot her full attention.   
>Peridot swallowed hard before she spoke. "You could.....intentionally dissipate your form so you can reform. When a gem retreats back into her gem, she can reshape herself into a form that feels more natural. It.....leaves your gem vulnerable until you reform though."  
>Hydra's eyes widened a moment before they narrowed, her left and right heads shaking their disagreement while the middle head spoke. "I am NOT letting you poof me. You aren't getting rid of me that easily." Hydra began reaching towards her back gem to summon her microphone.  
>"Woah, WOAH! I don't want to poof you, I was just telling you an alternative! Something for you to consider AFTER you get to a safe planet!" Peridot made a frantic gesture at Hydra's tattered leotard. "You should at least do it to get out of THOSE when this is all done, I imagine you hate your outfit too."  
>Hydra relaxed herself a bit as she looked down at her outfit, "I don't mind it, but I guess I don't need it?" Her left head spoke out.  
>"What would I change it to anyways? What would look better?" her right head inquired.  
>"Something to think on later. We've got to get off this planet before I do anything permanent." her middle head sighed as she spoke out. "Come on, let's get to that shoreline."  
>The pair resumed their travels along the river in silence. While they walked, thoughts ran through Peridot's mind. "Way to go clod, you almost made her mad. I've got to avoid doing that, or she might break me! I....guess I understand, I did try to....oh stars, I need to word things better in the future too."  
>After thirty minutes, the pair managed to make it out of the forest without further words or incidents, finding themselves on an expanse of red grass, fading quickly into the black sandy shoreline, the stream feeding directly into the large body of water, the waves lapping gently on the shore. "Here we are, the shore at last! Stars, I forgot to tell you something!" The Peridot smacked her forehead at her omission. "We can't go in that deeper water, there are worse organics lurking in the depths of this planet, things no gem has survived encountering. We know because we've sent exploration vessels into the seas, and they all wash up in ruined fragments after a few weeks of not reporting back."  
>Hydra eyes the water curiously, briefly considering if there was something within the depths she could form into that would scare gems more before dismissing the idea. She still needed work on her other chosen form. Her middle head spoke out. "Thanks for the safety tip Peridot, but we won't need to go into the water, right?"  
>Peridot nodded. "R-right, just.....just making sure you didn't dive in for some reason."   
>The pair began walking up the shoreline, their feet sinking into the sand beneath, a sensation Hydra found herself enjoying and Peridot found herself hating. Hydra constantly reached down to scoop up sand as she walked, letting it run through her fingers, briefly admiring the larger bits she found within, solid colored in all shades of colors before letting them fall back to the sand.   
>Peridot flinched a few times as she saw Hydra handle tiny splinters of gems, too small to reform into anything. "Stars, I hope she doesn't realize what those are." she thought to herself as she followed closely behind, not noticing as a few of the shards changed from their default color to a reddish hue before sinking further into the sand. Hydra herself had begun feeling better, more energized as she kept walking.   
>After six hours, the pair was close, the landing area in clear sight. The sandy shoreline now rested beside a steep cliff side, red grass and vines growing down from the top, a few small caves dotting the side and leading underground.   
>Peridot stopped walking as she cleared her throat. "Hydra, I know you said final decisions were yours but......we need a plan. That landing area is going to be crawling with gems, we can't barge right in."   
>Hydra stopped in her tracks and turned around, thinking for a moment before she replied. "Yeah.....yeah you're right." Her left head spoke out. "What do you suggest we do?" her right head inquired.   
>"Wait, not out here......there, let's go in that cave! Less chance of being spotted, right?" Hydra's middle head spoke as she pointed at a cave just up ahead.  
>Peridot smiled and nodded. "A solid observation. You're right, planning out in the open is risky. Lead the way."  
>Hydra's three heads smiled as she walked confidently into the cave, Peridot following behind. Their journey on the planet together was almost over. All they needed now was a solid plan and to pull it off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes I wonder if I drop too many hints about where something will go. But on the other hand, having something come out of nowhere is always annoying in a show or work of fiction.


	6. A plan of action

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hydra and Peridot discuss the landing site and what the best course of action should be.

>Hydra and Peridot made their way into the shoreline cliff-side cave, making sure they took a few turns so they'd be out of the line of sight of anyone or anything peeking their head into the entrance.  
>Once Hydra was confident they had moved far enough away from the entrance, she sat herself down upon the ground. Her middle head spoke as all three heads looked at Peridot. "Okay, I have no knowledge of ships, or the layout of the landing sight, or what gems could be there. Peridot, I....I'm counting on you to tell me as much as possible. If we pull this off, I will do my best to remove the rest of the red coloring on your body once we're a safe distance away, as I promised."  
>Peridot nodded as she sat down across from Hydra. "Fair enough. Before I start talking, you need to know something. I've never been to the landing sight personally. I've only heard about the typical ships and gems standing guard. All I can do is tell you a general guideline of what we should go for and what we should avoid. Is......is that okay?"  
>Hydra's three heads nodded in unison. Her left head spoke out first. "Figured you hadn't, you've said as much before." Her right head spoke next. "Just tell me what you know, and we'll go from there."  
>Peridot nodded and picked up a nearby rock, then began drawing in the sand that comprised the floor of the cave. "Right, so here's what I do know. This here represents the landing site." Peridot drew a large oval shape. "And here we have the shoreline cliff side. "Peridot drew a line down the left side of the oval.  
>"Now, obviously we need to get up to the port unnoticed. Unfortunately, with the planetary layout, this will be difficult. We'll either need to scale the cliff to get up to the landing area, or we'll need to head back down the shoreline and approach up the natural incline of land. Both paths carry risks of being spotted." Peridot drew two paths, one crossing the cliff line she drew, the other going around it and back towards the oval.  
>Peridot took a breath before she continued. "Once we're in the landing site, we'll need to be quick about grabbing a ship and leaving. The longer we stay there, the more likely we are to be caught and broken. Do you understand?" She looked up at Hydra with a stern expression.  
>Hydra's heads nodded as her middle head spoke out. "I understand. Please continue."  
>Peridot looked down at the dirt diagram once more and started drawing above the oval. "Right, now exact guard combinations will vary ship by ship, but the four main guard types we'll encounter are Rubies, Amethysts, Jaspers, and Topazes." Peridot did four crude drawings, starting with a short Ruby on the left end and ending with the bulky Topaz on the right. "Of the four, Topazes will be the hardest to take down, their bodies are designed to absorb a lot of blows for the smaller soldier gems. The easiest to deal with will be the Rubies. If possible, we should try to get a ship guarded solely by Rubies."  
>"Why Rubies?" Hydra's three heads asked in unison.  
>Peridot glanced up. "Rubies are the smallest and the mot common soldier type. They're also notoriously naive, it's very easy to trick most of them. You'll run into a smart one occasionally, but typically they're no real threat. From there, Amethysts are the second easiest to deal with, they're into pranks and fooling around, the odds are good we might convince them to let us take the ship if they think it's part of a prank."  
>"Rubies and Amethyst are the easiest, stay away from Topazes if we can, got it." Hydra's middle head summed up what she had just heard. "What about Jaspers?  
>"Jaspers are a tricky lot, some are like Amethysts, just looking for fun, while others are dead set serious, not willing to break protocol no matter what. Taking a Jasper or two out might make anyone they're paired with think twice about engaging us in a fight. If we have to deal with a group with Jaspers, they need to be the priority targets."  
>"I think I get it." Hydra's left head whispered out. "This will be tricky no matter what" Her right head spoke in a slightly louder tone. "What about the ships themselves? What can we expect there?" Hydra's middle head asked, wanting to get the rest of the information she could.  
>"The ships come in various shapes and sizes." Peridot proceeded to draw a few ship types above the gem figures. "We start with the individual pods, too small for both of us to escape in. Those are a last resort capture, and I hope you can learn how to fly fast if we have to do it. No offense, but if it comes down to escaping without you or being shattered, I'm escaping. I expect you'll do the same if you need to." Peridot looked up at Hydra with a serious expression once more.  
>"Hydra's three heads nodded again before her middle head spoke out. "That's fair enough, but I hope neither of us have to be abandoned. What about the other ships?"  
>"Right, next step up would be a Roaming Eye. They're capable of housing a small squad of gems, and would be the ideal. Large enough for us, but small enough not to matter. Then we have the battle crafts, they look like aerodynamic vessels, designed to fly through space fast and take down enemy vessels. They too hold a few gems in them, typically one pilot and the rest manning the various weapons. Grabbing one of them could help if we are pursued." Peridot drew a thin vessel with two thin fins at the side and a long nose sticking out of the front to illustrate the battle crafts.  
>Peridot took a breath before she continued. "Next up we have the larger cruisers, these are the largest of the ones we could reasonably steal. Slower than the battle crafts, but they have a lot more fire power and space aboard." Peridot drew a large diamond with four needles sticking out of the corners. "These are very risky however, likely to be guarded by a large amount of soldiers, and likely to draw a lot of attention. I would suggest we steer clear of these unless we're getting into a pinch."  
>Peridot took one more breath before she drew out shapes that looked like a large hand and a large foot. "The last type of ship we're likely to see are the cargo transports. We absolutely should not try to steal one of these unless we have to, they're slower than the other ship types due to the sheer size of them. Taking one is sure to draw more attention than we want to. Again, only if we have no other options, grabbing individual pods would be preferable over taking one of those monstrosities. Do you understand what I've said so far Hydra?"  
>Hydra's middle head spoke out. "I understand. Grab a Roaming eye or a small battle craft if we can, pick one guarded mostly by Rubies and Amethysts if possible, avoid the larger crafts and individual pods unless we're left with no other options."  
>"Right, you've got it. There's one more thing I should mention." Peridot drew a few smaller ovals within the larger one representing the landing stie. "The further we go in, the more likely we are to be noticed, and the larger the ships will likely get. That last part is conjecture, but.....the further we go into the landing site, the more likely we are to be caught. We need to be quick about picking a ship and getting off this planet."  
>Hydra nodded her heads in understanding. "I think I get it." Her middle head spoke out as she traced her finger along the shorter of the two lines Peridot drew. "I'm leaning towards a cliff side climb, but....what do you think is the best way to go?"  
>"If we had something to cover you up, we could try the long way around. As it stands, both ways carry risks of being spotted. If we can find a spot along the cliff where there were rocks to duck behind as we finished climbing......but I'll leave the final choice to you, as you wanted."  
>Hydra thought for a moment before her three heads spoke in unison. "Cliff side it is. It's less distance traveled, and time is of the essence. Thank you for telling me everything you knew, Peridot."  
>"You're welcome. When you're ready, we'll put the plan into action."  
>Hydra stood up slowly, her body shaking a bit. She took a moment to compose herself before she started walking confidently towards the entrance of the cave, Peridot following close behind her. The pair now had a plan. All that was left was to hope they could pull off a daring escape.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, sort of dull here, but still important to show. It's all coming together now, and I know having her exist in the future in another story ruins part of it, but......I hope the next chapter is still interesting to you all.


	7. Escape plan set in motion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hydra and Peridot enact their plan to steal a ship and escape the planet.

>Hydra and Peridot exited the cave, their feet sinking once more into the black sand along the shoreline as they emerged into the brilliant sunlight. Hydra took a few steps away from the opening of the cave before she turned her heads up towards the top of the cliff side, looking for an ideal spot for her and Peridot to climb up.   
>After looking around for a minute, she spotted the perfect spot a few feet away, a large cluster of green rocks perched near the edge of the cliff. A perfect place to duck behind after they finished climbing.   
>Hydra's middle head spoke excitedly as she pointed to the cluster of green rocks. "Look, there's a good spot to climb up to. Think you can manage the climb?"  
>"If it means getting off this planet and getting my color back to normal, yes, I can manage it." The Peridot spoke quick and confidently, wanting to get on with the plan.   
>Hydra gave a quick nod before she started sprinting down the beach. The Peridot's eyes widened for a moment at the speed Hydra was displaying before she started sprinting after her.  
>It didn't take the pair long to arrive at the spot along the cliff side below the rocks. Hydra looked up at the grey stone and soil one more time before she took a deep breath with all three of her heads. Her eyes narrowed in determination as she dug her fingertips into the grey cliff side and started dragging herself up at a steady pace.   
>Peridot followed behind her at a slightly slower pace, her fingers not digging in as far as Hydra's were, her feet wanting to slide along the stones as she climbed. A thought passed through the Peridot's mind. "Stars, how is she so good at climbing? Pearls weren't made for this, she wasn't this good on the mountain. Is her excitement to get off the planet heightening her abilities? This warrants further studies when this is all resolved."   
>It took the pair a half hour to scale the cliff side and drag themselves up upon the bright red grass and behind the large rocks, Hydra pulling herself up first, then reaching down to help a struggling Peridot up. The pair panted in exhaustion as they took a moment to rest behind the rocks.   
>Hydra's right head peaked out from behind their cover as they rested, her eyes widening as she caught sight of the landing area, at the sheer number of ships lined up in various sizes and colors. Her left and middle heads whispered out in unison. "It's so lovely. Peridot, we're almost there, we're almost free of this planet!"  
>Peridot sighed before she spoke up. "I hope we can get a ship without incident. When you're ready to make a move, we can start."  
>Hydra pulled her right head back behind the cover, taking another minute to rest before her three heads nodded in unison, her middle head speaking out. "Okay, it's time. Let's get ourselves a ship."  
>The pair dashed out from behind the rocks and made their way into the landing area proper, ducking behind a large stack of containers. Hydra peaked her left head out from behind the covering and began scanning the ships closest to the pair, looking at the guards around each one carefully..   
>As Hydra kept scanning the ships and the gems guarding them with her left head, Peridot noticed the faces on Hydra's other two heads twisting into a look of worry. Hydra's right head started whispering out, her volume raising as she continued. "No, too small, no, too big, no, too many guarding, no, no, no, no."  
>"What's the holdup? Just pick one already." Peridot hissed in a low tone.   
>Hydra's middle head turned towards Peridot and spoke in a low tone. "All the ships around here have at least one Topaz guarding them. We need to move to a new spot."  
>"Wait, really?" Peridot spoke out in disbelief. "That's strange, I've never heard of so many Topazes being present here before. Something......something's wrong here. Hydra, we might need to leave and wait a few days, see if the number of Topazes goes down."  
>Hydra's middle head spoke out again in an annoyed tone. "We're already up here, we need to get off this planet now. If we wait, there might be more Topazes to deal with later."  
>"That's......that's actually a good point. Stars, what's going on then?"  
>"I don't know, but I see an opening." Hydra's middle and right head spoke in unison as her body started to move. Peridot hesitated for a moment before she followed behind her, following Hydra's path as they darted to the next set of boxes piled up in the landing area.   
>Once more, Hydra peaked one of her heads out and looked down the line of ships as far as she could see in both directions, looking for one that they might be able to capture without much of a fight. Once more, she was met with a frightening realization that every ship in the port was guarded by at least one Topaz, even the smaller Roaming Eyes and the individual pods.   
>The pair continued advancing further into the landing area, looking for a ship they could steal. The further they went, the more frustrated Hydra grew, and the more nervous Peridot became. When they arrived at the eleventh row of ships, Peridot whispered out in a pleading tone. "Hydra, we're going too far in. We need to pick one and go for it soon, or we're going to be spotted."  
>Hydra's heads sighed in unison before her middle head spoke out as her right head peaked out from behind the boxes to scan the ships in the new row. "I know that, but you said we should avoid Topazes if we could. Guess we're going to.....wait, is that ship......yes! Peridot, I think I found one!"  
>"Wait, you did?! Tell me about it, quickly."  
>Hydra's left head joined in, speaking in unison with her middle head. "There's a red Roaming Eye that's completely unguarded! Finally, we can get out of here and off the planet!"   
>A chill ran through the Peridot's form. "Hydra wait, no guards at all, that's suspicious! It's too risky to-"  
>"Stop worrying, this is our chance, I'm taking it with or without you!" Hydra spoke out a little louder before she started dashing towards the unguarded ship.   
>"That clod's going to get herself shattered!" Peridot cursed to herself before she dashed out after Hydra. She still needed the off-color Pearl to fix her coloring, and knew she didn't know how to fly a ship.   
>Hydra made her way aboard the vessel, smiling widely as she looked at the line of control panels near the front of the ship, slowing her pace down as she moved towards them. A minute behind her, Peridot entered the vessel and sped towards the control panels, speeding past Hydra and speaking out in a rush. "Hydra, if we're really going to use this ship, we need to take off immediately! A ship should never be left unguarded."   
>"Calm down, we got lucky. Can't you be happy for us?" Hydra's middle head rolled her eyes as she spoke out, watching Peridot fumble with the console frantically.   
>"The Peridot is right, we don't leave a ship unguarded." A new voice sent shivers through both gems, causing them to turn around to see the source.   
>Hydra's and Peridot's hearts sank as they saw the sight. Standing between them and the ship's exit hatch stood two Topazes, three Jaspers, four Amethysts, and two Rubies. The Jasper in the middle of the group pulled an axe from her naval gem and spoke, her voice matching the one Hydra and Peridot had just heard. "When a Hessonite told us an Off-Color Pearl and a rogue Peridot would be coming for the landing area and a ship, the rest of the guards shrugged it off as a training exercise, shuffling their teams around to satisfy her whims and went on with their duty as normal. We, on the other hand, decided to take it more seriously. We knew making the ship look unguarded would draw you both in! Now, come quietly little Pearl and Peridot, and we won't poof you."  
>"Stars, I told you! It was too good to be true! We're shattered, we're so shattered!" Peridot clutched the side of her head with her hands and started to sweat and shake.   
>Hydra's hands reached around to her back and pulled her microphone out with a swift motion. Her middle head stammered out as her left and right heads darted their eyes along the large group. "I-I'm w-warning you, I'm n-not just a Pearl! I am Hydra, and I-I've taken out a hydra organic on this planet with my weapon here! Don't make me use it, leave now!"  
>The guards all looked at each other before erupting in a chorus of laughs. "Hah, that thing? You're kidding!" "What are you going to do, sing at us?" "How cute, it thinks it can scare us!" "What a joker, she might be fun to keep around!"   
>"Put that thing away before you embarrass yourself!" The naval gem Jasper spoke out as she started advancing with her axe in her hands. The other guard gems reached towards their gemstones and pulled out a variety of weapons, spears, swords, maces, and the Rubies pulling out a pair of chisels from their shoulder gems.  
>Hydra's body started shaking as she brought her microphone up close to her mouths, her left and right heads moving in closer. The microphone began glowing faintly as she spoke. "I m-mean it! I will use this if I have to! Leave now!"  
>Still the other gems advanced, laughing and sneering at Hydra's little act, confident the eleven of them could take on one lone Pearl.   
>Hydra's eyes widened in fear before narrowing as the group got half way to her and Peridot. Her heads shouted out in unison as her microphone glowed brighter. "That's it, you leave me with no choice!"  
>Hydra's three heads screamed into the microphone in unison. She could feel power unlike anything she had felt before welling up within her. Behind her, the Peridot groaned and sunk to her knees, her body shaking as the red spots on her body and gem started fading away further.   
>Hydra's microphone kept growing brighter as a large ball of energy started forming around the head as she kept screaming out. The Peridot let out a yell of pain as the last of the red on her body faded, her energy completely sapped away, causing her body to dissipate, her gem clattering to the floor.   
>It was at this point that the Amethysts of the group of guards stopped and started to back away. "Uh, Jasper 5XT? Maybe we should go...." "This.....this feels bad" "That Peridot just poofed behind her! Oh man, what's going on?!"  
>"Stand your ground! It's just a trick and a light show! We're in no danger!" The naval gem Jasper snarled out before increasing her pace, axe raised and ready to strike, the distance between her and Hydra closing quickly.  
>With a last increase of voice volume, the orb around Hydra's microphone grew into a large red orb that engulfed her entire form, then suddenly collapsed on the microphone before sending out strong rapid bursts of energy waves.   
>The waves crashed against the forms of all the guards, driving them back hard against the wall of the ship. Each and every wave sent searing pain through their forms, and one by one, the gems started to poof, Amethysts first, then the Jaspers, and finally the Topazes. The two Rubies were the only ones left standing at the end of the attack, their bodies battered and shaking as they crouched down upon the ground.   
>As the Rubies stood up, their eyes widened as they spotted the gems of their fellow guards. Slowly, the purples, the oranges, and the yellows of the gems all began changing, small spots of red forming upon them, then spreading out, until the gems were entirely dyed the same red as Hydra's skin.  
>Hydra herself was taken aback at the sight as small red orbs floated up from each gem and sped towards her. Her body surged with new strength as each orb connected with her form, her tattered leotard fixing itself, her body no longer shaking, and information started flooding into her mind, things she had never seen becoming clear in her mind: How to fight, how to fly a ship, guard routines, patrol routes, information about nearby colonies and planets that were deemed unworthy for colonization.   
>The Rubies took one last look at Hydra as she focused all three sets of eyes on them. They let out screams and exited the ship in a rush, screaming out in unison "Monster! Please don't hurt us!"  
>Hydra looked at the pure red gems laying on the floor before she turned her attention to the console, and to Peridot's gem lying on the floor next to it. Hydra picked up the stone and turned in in her hand, noting there were no more spots of red upon it. Her middle head whispered out. "Curious, they changed, but you returned to normal. I guess you'll be happy when you reform. Maybe you can help me figure out why they changed so much when you get back. I hope they're all okay."  
>Hydra placed Peridot's gem back on the ground before she placed her hands on the console panels, moving her fingers in the patterns that had flashed in her mind when the red orbs flowed into her body. After a few seconds of inputs, the ship roared to life, a chair raising from the floor to allow Hydra to sit. She smiled as she piloted the Roaming Eye and left the planet. For now, it didn't matter how it had happened or what happened next. She was finally on her way to finding somewhere she could live in peace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so.....This chapter was the big one for setting up something about Hydra's abilities and how they work. I'll be diving into more specifics in other chapters, but for now I'll say this, Hydra can't puppet other gems. That's not what's happening here. She's done something else to them, and it's very unintentional.


	8. Finding direction in deep space

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hydra drifts through space as she thinks of what's happened and what she wants to do from here.

>It had been three days since Hydra had made her escape from the planet she was created on, three days since she had been attacked by a squad of guard gems, since she had been cornered inside a Roaming eye, and since she had taken out all but two Rubies from said squad with an attack from her microphone gem weapon, and had consequently stolen the ship she had boarded. Hydra had since piloted the ship out of gem controlled space, keeping her scanners on and scanning space for any signs of being pursued, in case other gems decided to come after her.  
>Hydra's minds were finally starting to relax, her fears of being pursued fading away. "Surely if someone was going to come after me, they would have done so already, right?" Hydra thought to herself as her thoughts began to wander to other things. She looked at the Peridot gem sitting on the dash of the console and let out a worried sigh. The last time her Peridot companion had poofed, she had reformed within a few hours. "I hope I didn't take too much out of her, please, please reform soon. I hate being alone, and there are things I need to ask you." her middle head whispered out in longing.  
>Her left and right heads turned back to look at the pile of gems she had poofed. The two Topazes, three Jaspers, and four Amethysts gemstones were still the improper shade, still stained a deep red from Hydra's attack. Even though they had attacked her and Peridot, Hydra found herself worried about them too. She didn't want to permanently harm anyone, only scare them into leaving her alone. Their conditions were among the things she found herself wanting to ask Peridot when she reformed.  
>A few more hours of piloting the ship passed before a faint green glow snapped Hydra's attention away from the console and towards the green gem sitting on the dash of the console. Thinking quickly, she placed the ship in an autopilot state, grabbed the Peridot's gem, and placed it gently on the floor, smiling widely with all three heads in anticipation.  
>Peridot's gem glowed brighter as it raised into the air, her body starting to reshape, starting with the left arm her gem was on before spreading out to the rest of her body. Her form rapidly took shape, her pentagonal hair returned to it's normal shape, her standard uniform reforming upon her body, her arms and legs lengthening out to the proper measurements, and finally her body's color returned, her form no longer marred with any spots of red. As the Peridot finished reforming, her body floated gently to the floor of the ship, her legs and feet shaking a little as they touched solid floor.  
>Tears welled up in Hydra's left and right head's eyes, while her middle head smiled wider and shouted out in glee, her body rushing towards her companion, her arms held out in front of her as she ran. "Peridooooot! Oh thank stars you're okay, I was so worried! Are you okay, does your body feel alright? How do you feel?"  
>Peridot tensed up for a moment as she felt Hydra's arms wrap around her, her mind crying out for a desire to get free and escape the ship. As her mind settled down from the initial shock, she began looking around the ship in amazement, her voice wavering as she spoke out. "H-hydra, where....where are we? Why are we.....still on a ship? What happened?"  
>Hydra pulled away from the Peridot, a smile starting to form on her right and left heads as her middle head spoke out. "We're on a ship! We're in space! We escaped the planet Peridot, I got the ship out through the atmosphere and out of gem controlled space! I, I don't know how, but I beat the guard gems with my microphone. I was so worried when I saw you had poofed, I'm so so sorry, I didn't mean to take that much energy from you! But look at you, your body is fine now, you're back to your pure colors again!"  
>Peridot's eyes widened in shock. "Wait, you beat them?! I'm back to normal?!" Peridot looked down at her body and ran her hands along her body, her eyes tearing up a little as she saw she was indeed back to her normal colors. "Oh thank the stars I'm back to normal! I, this is amazing! Thank you Hydra, for restoring me to normal, and for beating the guards!" Then a thought crossed her mind. "Wait, the guards.....what did you do with their gems?"  
>Hydra shuffled her feet nervously. "Well......don't freak out, but they're still on board. I, uh, have questions I want to ask you about them actually."  
>"You kept them onboard?! Hydra, we've gotta get rid of them, fast! Normal soldier gems reform in a matter of minutes, far faster than a Peridot, if I just reformed they'll be back any moment, they should have been back already! C'mon, let's get them off the ship now, while we can!"  
>Hydra tensed up as she stopped Peridot from moving, her grip tightening around Peridot's body. Her middle head spoke out in a sombre tone as her left and right heads eyed the pile of gems behind her companion. "Peridot.......are you sure it only takes them minutes to reform? That it only takes you an hour or two to reform?"  
>An uneasy feeling settled in to the Peridot's gut. "Yes I, I'm sure. Why.....do you ask?"  
>"Peridot.....you've been gone for three days. If what you say is true....they should have reformed on the first day. I think......I think something's wrong with them." Hydra's body shuddered as her middle head spoke.  
>Hydra's words sent a chill through Peridot's form. "What.....what do you mean? Hydra, what did you DO to them?"  
>"I don't know. Maybe you can tell me. Their gems are behind you." Hydra's middle head finished speaking as she motioned behind Peridot with her right hand.  
>Slowly, the Peridot turned around, letting out a gasp of surprise and her eyes widening as she saw the pile of gems near the exit hatch. She cautiously approached the gems, running her eyes along the pile. "They're....they're pure red? How, how did this?" Peridot's body shook as she knelt down and ran her fingers along each of the nine gemstones.  
>After a few moments of examination to confirm the gems were completely red, Peridot stood up, her body still shaking as she turned to look at Hydra. "Hydra......what happened? How, how did you turn them pure red?"  
>Hydra's heads started speaking in a jumbled mess. "I don't know!" "I just wanted to scare them!" "They laughed at me, they weren't going to leave!" "I didn't know they'd change so much!" "I didn't want to alter them this much!" "Peridot, please tell me they'll be okay!"  
>Peridot raised her left hand up to stop Hydra's jumbled ramblings. "Hydra....I don't know if they'll be okay or not. When you altered my form.....I only changed a little, and you were able to pull some energy out of my body to fuel your attacks a few times. If they turned pure red, and they haven't reformed.......they could be stuck in their gems until you use enough energy from them."  
>Hydra's middle head spoke, her voice shaking a little. "You.....you think they'll be okay after I use energy from them? Will that, can that work?"  
>Peridot shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know, but it's worth a shot. For now, we need to find a planet to land on, so you can make the attempt to cure one of them, and so we can start our preparations to go our separate ways."  
>Hydra's faces fell at the Peridot's words. Her left head whispered out. "Even after all this, you want to leave?" Her right head spoke sadly. "I can't believe you still want to go back to them."  
>"I didn't say I was going back to them." Peridot spoke up. "But....Hydra, your ability here scares me. I.....I don't want to risk being hit with it again. I don't know what I'll do, but.....please understand."  
>Hydra thought for a moment before her middle head sighed and spoke. "Okay.....okay, I understand. Peridot, you know more about building things and fixing things than me. Why don't you take control of the ship and find us a world with the materials you'll need to.....do whatever needs to be done for us to go separate ways."  
>Peridot nodded as she started moving towards the controls. "Affirmative, I'll find us a suitable world to work on." She placed a hand on Hydra's left shoulder as she walked past the Pearl. "Oh, and don't worry too much, okay? If you really want to help those gems, we'll figure a way to do it together, before I go in my own direction."  
>Hydra's three heads smiled as they whispered in unison. "Thanks Peridot. It means a lot to me that you're willing to help with this."  
>With that, Peridot took the ship's controls, and started scanning nearby planets, gathering resource analyses to determine which worlds they would need to visit. Meanwhile, Hydra made her way back to the pile of gems, her middle head spoke gently to them. "Don't worry, I promise I'll get you all back to normal, just like I did Peridot."


	9. Landing on a new world

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hydra and her Peridot companion find a world that has most of the materials they'll need. The pair land on the surface for an initial analysis and to see if the scanners are accurate.

>It took Peridot days of scanning and data analysis before she smiled widely and announced the results. "Excellent news Hydra, I've found a planet that has most of the materials we'll need four our purposes. The neighboring worlds carry the rest of them, but we shouldn't need to go off-world much."  
>Hydra looked up from the spot she had sat down, the pile of reddened gems to her right. Her three heads smiled as her middle head spoke up. "That's great Peridot, please land the ship when you're ready."  
>"Affirmative, setting the ship down on the surface of the planet." Peridot spoke, a hint of excitement in her voice as she manned the controls and set the Roaming Eye down, through the planet's atmosphere and onto the surface proper. The ship was brought down on a wide open expanse, nothing in sight but pure pink, the ship sinking into the ground a little as it landed, bits of pink spraying in the air and piling back up.   
>The door to the ship slid open. "It's now safe to exit the vessel. Let's see if the surface scans were right." Peridot spoke aloud as she left the pilot's chair and headed towards the open ship door. Hydra took a moment to stretch her body out before following behind her green companion.  
>Peridot reached down and scooped up a handful of pink, taking a bite out of the mass, her body shivering shortly after. "It's as the scans said, planet is covered in a soft, cold, pink substance, powdery in nature and covering the main surface of the world. Surface life will be minimal here, subterranean life will be the main concern."   
>Hydra looked out from behind Peridot at the wide expanse of light pink, part of her wishing there were trees and plants visible, the other part reveling in the calm present, not having to fear about what might be on the horizon. Anything that tried to approach them would be visible from miles away. "So, what do we do first? How do we proceed?"  
>Peridot glanced back towards Hydra. "Before we start gathering materials, we should take advantage of this situation. With nothing around for miles, it's the perfect opportunity for you to try discharging energy from the gems you altered."  
>"You.....want me to attack nothing? But, what about you? Won't you get hurt?" Hydra's middle head spoke out in worry as her left and right heads bit their lower lips.   
>"Oh stars no, I won't be hurt, I'll be up in orbit, away from the blast! Here, let me get something and explain!" Peridot rushed past Hydra over to the closest section of the ship's line of consoles, fiddling with it for a moment before she pulled out an eight sided device. "Here, this is a communication. I'll go up in orbit, while you stay down here and release as much power as you can. To ensure optimal results, you should choose a single gem to keep with you. Perhaps the distance between you and the others will allow you to pull more power from one stone at a time."  
>Hydra thought for a moment before she took the communicator from Peridot with a smile on all three of her heads. Once more, her middle head spoke out. "Good idea, it's worth a shot. Let me pick a gem and we'll give it a try."  
>Hydra looked at the pile of gems, hesitating for a moment before she shifted a few aside, rejecting the smooth Jaspers and the two large Topaz stones, before grabbing one of the Amethyst stones. "If I can help them, the Amethysts should be first. They were scared right before my attack went off, they're the most likely to not attack me right away." Hydra thought to herself as she gingerly gripped the red stained Amethyst in her left hand, the communicator in her right, then nodded to Peridot. "I'll contact you when I finish down here. Please, get a safe distance, if you start feeling strange, go further away. I don't want you relapsing and ending up like they did."  
>"Affirmative, but there's no need for concern. Good luck Hydra." With that, Peridot loaded up onto the red Roaming Eye and took it into orbit.   
>Alone on the ground, Hydra sighed as she reached her left hand back towards her gem, communicator firmly in her grasp. She took a moment to stash the communicator in her gem before she focused on pulling her microphone out. She let out a light gasp as she pulled it around in front of her, taking notice that the cord that used to connect it to her gem was no longer present.   
>"Can't think about that now, it makes it easier to move anyways." Hydra thought to herself as she closed her eyes and focused, the Amethyst gem clutched in her left hand, her feet sinking a little in the powdery pink substance covering the world, a chill passing through her body as she cleared her mind.  
>Within Hydra's mind, she envisioned a hoard of hostile organic creatures like the one she defeated on the planet she escaped. She could feel a surge of strength and energy radiating from her gem as she envisioned herself preparing an attack to repel them. Back in the real world, her gem was glowing brightly, the gem clutched in her left hand glowing just as bright. Energy was gathering on the microphone as a rapid rate, the ball of energy growing larger by the second, floating above Hydra's heads instead of the microphone itself.   
>Hydra kept focusing, envisioning herself gathering more and more power, while the orb of energy kept growing, now easily thirty times her height in diameter. She could feel the flow of energy from her gem slowing down, realizing she had probably built up as much energy as she could in one attack. Taking a deep breath, she shouted into her microphone.   
>The results were devastating. The ball of energy crashed down around her, enveloping her form before it billowed out, sending dozens of bursting waves out along the planet's surface. The powdery substance on the planet's surface flew up in the air, scattering to the following energy pulses and vanishing without a trace, a strange pink gas rising from where the particles disappeared. Beneath Hydra, the ground sat a few dozen feet below her, shining a bright blue under her, her body suspended in energy as she floated in midair, the blasts still flowing from the orb.  
>As the blasts slowed down and became less violent, the orb of energy began fading from around Hydra, her body floating gently down to the planet's surface.   
>She opened her eyes as she felt the last of her accumulated energy flow out. She gasped in wonder as she looked around her. No longer was the world a light pink, instead a bright blue expanse spread out before her as far as she could see. She smiled widely as she turned her three heads towards the gem in her left hand and gently opened her palm.  
>Her smile began to fade as seconds turned into minutes, the minutes turning into an hour. The gem sat in Hydra's hand, unchanging. Despite all the energy she had summoned, it hadn't worked to any visible degree of success.  
>Hydra let out a groan from her three heads as she let her microphone vanish and reached for her gem pulling the communicator out and activating it. Her middle head spoke out plainly as the screen popped out of the communicator. "Peridot, do you read me? My test is done, it's safe to come back now."  
>"Copy that, and the gem? Did it work?"  
>"No......there was no noticeable change in the gem at all. This was a waste of effort" Hydra's three heads spoke glumly and in unison.  
>"Holy......there might not have been a change in the gem, but this wasn't a waste. I'm looking at the surface of the planet, I can see the clearing you created from up here. I can't believe you cleared away all of that pink surface powder! This'll make it easier to delve into the planet and gather materials. Don't worry about the gem not changing, this was only the first test. We've still got many more things to try."  
>Hydra's three heads cracked a smile as she whispered out a reply. "Yeah.....yeah you're right. Thanks Peridot."  
>"No problem, I'll talk to you in person soon. Peridot out."  
>As the communicator shut off, Hydra let out a long sigh as she looked around her one more time, then back at the gem in her hand. "I'm sorry that didn't work, maybe something else will." Hydra's heads whispered together. She had no intention of giving up on them yet.


	10. Taking advantage of an opportunity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Hydra's powers clearing away a lot of the pink powdery substance around the pair, Peridot proposes they take advantage of being at the planet's actual surface.

>The red Roaming Eye touched down on the planet's surface once more, landing a short distance away from Hydra. Hydra broke her gaze away from the red stained Amethyst gem in her hand to glance at the ship as the hatch opened up on it and Peridot stepped out, a wide smile on her face.  
>"I have to say, this is really impressive, and a little frightening. I've never heard of any gem capable of power on this scale!"  
>Hydra's left and right heads looked down at the ground glumly while her middle head spoke out in a low tone. "I'm only like this because I hurt other gems......I don't want power like this."  
>"Hey, chins up, okay? So that blast didn't work, we can try plenty of other things! But before we continue our attempts at restoring the gems, we should take advantage of the opportunity you've created!"  
>Hydra's three heads fixated on Peridot, her left and right speaking out in curiousity. "What do you mean?" "What opportunity did I create?"  
>"Ah, allow me to explain! See, this planet has a vast system of caverns beneath the surface, but the entrances to them are well hidden beneath the pink powdery precipitation crystals! With the crystals evaporated from this area, we can dig into the planet's crust immediately instead of having to remove the crystals at a painfully slow pace!"  
>Hydra thought for a moment before her middle head spoke up. "How are we going to dig down? How are we going to keep ourselves from being buried as the.....the crystals accumulate again?"  
>Peridot broke into a wide grin. "That's the best thing! If we did at an angle, only the entrance will need to be monitored! The displaced soil will help keep the crystals from piling up for a while. As for the digging, well......that's where you and I have to get creative."  
>"What do you mean?" "What type of creativity do we need?" Hydra's left and right heads spoke out in confusion, her minds trying to think of what she and Peridot had on hand.  
>Peridot spoke once more to elaborate. "To put it simply, it'll come down to you Hydra. You've got an immense amount of power dwelling within you now, While I'm loath to rely on it, the fastest way to get to the underground caverns is if YOU shapeshift and dig while I use the ship's technology to grab the clusters of dirt you fling out and arrange them to help keep the powdery pink crystals from accumulating again."  
>"Shapeshift? But, I tried that and it didn't work so well........I don't know if I can do this." Hydra whispered out meekly with all three of her heads.  
>Peridot let out a sigh of annoyance before she started speaking in her best supportive voice. "Look, you need to try, okay? You shapeshifting and digging us down is the fastest way for us to get down. It's okay if you can't do it, but it'll really help us get things moving." Then an idea came to Peridot, a way to motivate Hydra more. "You know, if you're constantly expending energy through shapeshifting, it might help the gems you hit go back to normal faster!"  
>Hydra's eyes widened for a moment before all three sets of eyes narrowed in determination. "Okay.....okay I'll try it. For them. Here, take this one and put her with the others, please." Hydra offers the Amethyst gem she's still holding to Peridot, who retrieves it then quickly retreats back to the ship, calling out from next to the vessel. "Okay, she's secure, when you're ready!"  
>Hydra closed her eyes, took deep breaths with each of her heads, and focused her energy, visualizing the form she wanted to take. Meanwhile, Peridot watched the scene unfold with giddy anticipation.  
>The gem on Hydra's back glowed brilliantly as she continued focusing, her entire body soon engulfed in a bright red light. She let out a sharp cry of surprise as she felt her body start to shift and expand rapidly, the lengthening of her legs forcing her down to her hands and knees before her arms started lengthening too. Her shoe faded away as her hands and feet began to twist into more monstrous forms, the ends of her digits becoming tipped with sharp red claws. Her outfit began to spread out and blend into her body, forming large thick scales as her torso expanded and became thicker, more powerful in nature. She could feel her mouths stretching out, the teeth in her jaws lengthening and sharpening as her faces took on a more reptilian look. A tingling sensation started at the base of her spine as a tail sprouted from right above her perky bottom, the tail lengthening out rapidly.  
>The changes to Hydra's body came to an end when her form finally settled down, thick red scales now covering her from tail to snouts, her necks had lengthened out to give each head plenty of room to look around. Her arms and legs had become thick and powerful monstrous limbs Her body itself was ten times larger than she had started out, she was easily twice as large as the species she was emulating, if not larger. She was a hydra, in name and in body.  
>Peridot spoke in wonder. "Amazing, absolutely amazing! How......how does it feel? Can you.....still talk?"  
>Hydra let out a few test growls before her middle head's mouth opened. A raspy voice emanated from her jaws, a sound that sent a shiver through Peridot's form. "This feels incredible! I, I've never felt so powerful, or so right! Thanks for the suggestion, this is.....I love this."  
>Peridot spoke out nervously. "That's......great! Being able to communicate will make the next steps easier! Just, don't push yourself beyond your limits, you've still got to be careful! We don't know how far you can push or how much your body can handle"  
>Hydra's three large heads nodded in unison. "I'll be careful." "I'll pay attention to myself." "I'll let you know if I need a break." With those words spoken from her heads, Hydra turned her attention to the soil, her middle head speaking out again. "I dig at an angle, right?"  
>"That would be the ideal thing to do, just in case. It'll keep the pink power from burying us directly."  
>Hydra's three heads nodded once more before she started clawing at the ground with her two front claws. Large sections of blue soil were being moved with each motion of her limbs, a smirk growing on Hydra's three faces as she kept digging.  
>Behind her, Peridot loaded up on the ship and started it up. She started using the ship's built in matter transportation beam, as she had agreed, piling the soil into a natural barrier that would hopefully shield the opening Hydra was digging out from the pink powdery crystals for a while.  
>The pair continued to work together, Hydra digging the soil loose while Peridot relocated the soil that didn't make it out of the hole. It would take them a few hours, but they eventually broke through from the surface into one of the natural caverns underneath. They were well on their way to gathering up materials they could use to create the things they'd need, to build a new ship, to build technology to aid them, and to perhaps figure out how to remove Hydra's influence from the gems she had poofed and turned red.


	11. Spelunking for materials

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hydra and Peridot arrive in a large cave beneath the surface of the planet, and begin their search for materials.

>Hydra's eyes widened as she broke through into a large cavern, dirt and rocks falling from where she had broken through, followed by her hulking shapeshifted body. Hydra landed on the ground below her with a hard thud, the sound echoing through the caves around her. She let out a mix of a snarl and a groan from all three heads as she shook the pain out of her form and brought herself to stand on her four shifted legs.  
>Behind Hydra, the Roaming Eye ship Peridot was piloting flew into the cavern. Peridot placed the ship in a hover mode and slid the door to it open, calling out to Hydra in concern. "Hey, are you okay down there?! That was a nasty fall, I didn't expect we'd break through the ceiling of a cave!"  
>Hydra's left and right heads looked around as her middle head spoke up. "M'fine, just a bit sore. Looks like this cave spreads out in several directions!"  
>"Right, why don't you take a break and shift back to your default form? It'll take us a while to locate the next spot we need to dig, we'll have to scan thoroughly to pinpoint the exact places we need!"  
>Hydra thought for a moment before she shook her three reptilian heads. "No, I can keep going like this! I can dig out caves where I need to, so we can get the ship to the materials faster and easier!"  
>"Don't be foolish! You've already stayed in that form for a few hours, and it's gotta be draining energy from you like crazy! If you don't shift back willingly, you might snap into an unintended form once your energy levels get critical!"  
>"I should feel that coming though, right?" Hydra's left head asked. "I should start feeling weaker when I'm at my limit." her right head continued.  
>"Well........yes, you should feel it coming."  
>"Then there's no problem yet." Hydra's middle head spoke firmly. "I don't feel any drain at all, if anything, I feel stronger than when I started!"  
>"But that's......" Peridot started to speak, then paused, really thinking about things. "That actually makes sense......"  
>Hydra tilted her heads in confusion. "It does?" "How so?" "What do you mean Peridot?"  
>"Look, you were pulling energy from gems to launch attacks, right? What if....what if you're pulling a steady stream of energy from the gems to shapeshift! It would explain why you're still feeling strong, and why you weren't hurt by that fall! Your body is burning the energy from the gems you poofed to keep you safe and in that form!"  
>Hydra's three eyes widened in surprise before her middle head spoke out. "So, if......if I stay like this, they might......might start changing colors back to their original hues?"  
>"It's a strong possibility! Staying in your larger form could help them immensely. You'll need to be partially shifted anyways to dig the materials out, you're our best initial hope of breaking the materials free until we can get proper tools crafted."  
>"That settles it." "My choice is clear." I'll stay in this form for as long as I can hold it, or until I need to board the ship to leave the cave."  
>"A sound strategy. I promise, if something goes wrong and you poof, I'll keep your gem safe. I'll fly the ship down the caves and use its scanner as far as I can before I exit the ship and start scanning with the portable scanner I have stashed away."  
>"Very well. Let's hope we can find the materials we really need to work with swiftly."  
>With that, Peridot closed the hatch on the ship and flew it into the largest cave opening connected to the massive chamber Hydra had broken into, her scanners firing up and set to locate what was needed. Hydra followed the ship into the cave, keeping her distance in case Peridot needed to stop and back the ship up.  
>As the pair went farther into the caves, Hydra found herself with less space to stay in her larger form. She knew she needed to expand the cave out anyways, both for herself and for the ship, so she started digging into the solid rock to expand the opening as Peridot's ship went on ahead. She tossed the rock chunks behind her as hard as she could, listening to them clatter along the cave floor as she kept digging. The further in she dug, the more rocks she had to shift.  
>Hydra lost track of how long she had been digging when she spotted the ship in the tunnel ahead of her, resting soundly on the ground in front of a tunnel entrance that had severely narrowed down. "Well, I caught up with the ship at least." Hydra thought to herself as she paused. As much as she hated to admit it, she knew she couldn't dig around the ship without the risk of damaging it. With an annoyed sigh from her three heads, the gem on her back began to glow, her form shrinking back down to her default Pearl body, her leotard reforming on her body as her legs and arms shifted back, her claws receding, her hands reforming, her reptilian mouths shortening back into three human smiles, her tail vanishing from her bottom.  
>As Hydra's form finished settling into her normal, she took off down the cave in a sprint, her feet thumping softly on the cave floor as she ran at a blinding pace, at a speed most gems could never hope to match unaided. It didn't take Hydra long before she started hearing a voice muttering in the distance. "-very close now. Just a few more steps until.....wait, are those footsteps I hear? Hydra, is that you?!"  
>Hydra slowed her movement down as she responded. "Yeah, it's me! I dug the cave out as much as I could without risking the ship!"  
>"Splendid, that'll make getting out easier than getting in. Sounds like you're back to your default, come find me! I think I've located a vein of metal within the rock!"  
>"Be there shortly!" her three heads called out in unison before she started running down the cave again. It only took her another five minutes before she slid to a stop right in front of Peridot.  
>"Excellent, you're here! How are you feeling, any aches, pains, fatigue, damage?"  
>Hydra shook her three heads as she replied. "No, nothing like that, I still feel completely fine. I hope the energy I expended is a good step towards fixing those poor gems though."  
>"I'm sure it was a huge help, but right now, we have something else we need." Peridot patted the rocky wall in front of her. "Through this stone rests the first of the metal we need. Once we break it free, we can use the ship's engines to heat it up and then I can use my metal powers to shape it into what we need. The first thing will be something to help dig through the rocks."  
>"Why? If I can dig through the stone, isn't that good enough?"  
>"Well.....it's a good thing, really, but.....I feel guilty asking you to do all this work yourself. I want to help you dig, we could gather more spots faster if we're both scanning and digging.. There's other things too, if you get poofed, or if you can no longer shapeshift, we'll need tools to proceed. It's the logical first thing to create from multiple angles."  
>Hydra pauses for a moment before she nods in agreement, her middle head speaking out. "That's fair. Thanks for wanting to do some of the hard work yourself, but don't push yourself too hard. I'll be relying on your knowledge and your abilities going forward."  
>"Alright, enough dillydallying! If you would please dig into this stone here, I can get to what I do best, nyehehe."  
>Hydra nodded as she stepped towards the cave wall, Peridot taking a few rushed steps away. Hydra smirked as the gem on her back glowed once more, her hands rapidly reshaping, large sharp claws forming at the ends of her fingers as they got larger and longer, curling back into a more monstrous form.  
>When her hands finished changing, Hydra started clawing at the wall with great enthusiasm, little bits of rock flying away from the wall and clattering to the ground behind her. Peridot watched the display of power in awe as Hydra kept digging.  
>It was fifteen minutes of digging before Peridot's eyes widened as a few shining chunks started flying out from where Hydra was digging. "Wait, stop! You've hit the vein Hydra, stop digging a moment!"  
>"Oh, whoops! Sorry about that, the dust was clouding my eyes down here! I'll start digging this out more carefully!" Hydra shouted out a reply from within the hole in the wall, the sounds of her digging stopping for a moment before they resumed at a much slower and more careful pace.  
>It took Hydra another hour before she managed to get the large chunk of metal completely dug out from the wall and broken into pieces, small enough to move but large enough to be useful without having to melt them back together. Peridot used her metal powers on a large portion of the pieces, while Hydra picked up the remainder of the metal with her bare hands, shifted into a larger size to carry them easier. The pair proceeded back to where they had left the ship, one step closer to having all of what they needed from the planet.


	12. Rigging the engines

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hydra and Peridot return to the surface, where Peridot gets to work making the adjustments needed to the ship's gravity engines for the next phase of their plan.

>Once Hydra and Peridot finished carrying the metal they had found and dug out to their ship, the pair proceeded to load it onto their vessel. The interior of the ship was pretty cramped with the addition of the metal, but there was still enough space to move around a little.   
>"We'll need to be back on the surface for the next part, I need to do some adjustments and run the engines multiple times to get the settings right for melting metals without disintegrating the materials, and without destroying the ship in the process. These gravity engines were never intended to be used like this, it'll be tricky." Peridot spoke out in a solemn tone as she began keying in the commands to start the ship and get them out of the caves.  
>Meanwhile, Hydra was knelt down over the pile of gems she had dissipated, picking one up in her hands gently and looking the stone over thoroughly. Her expressions were ones of hope, but as she picked up each stone in turn and looked it over, the hope on her faces slowly turned to sadness. As she looked over the last stone, tears started forming in her six eyes and running down her cheeks. "They......they haven't changed at all." Hydra's heads whispered out sorrowfully in unison.  
>Hydra's whispers caught Peridot's attention. She responded in an even tone as she kept her focus on flying the ship safely out of the caves. "Perhaps you haven't spent enough time shapeshifted yet, or haven't expended enough energy? We just got started, you shouldn't give up so quickly. Don't lose hope yet, we can still help them."   
>Hydra thinks on Peridot's words for a moment, then lets out a heavy sigh from each of her heads. "I know you're right, but I had hoped to see some sign of improvement in them. It's hard, knowing......that I did this to them."  
>"You did what you had to, and it wasn't intentional. It was either poof them or end up shattered or worse. Self-preservation isn't a bad thing Hydra, and now you know more of what you're capable of. The best way to undo what's happened is to keep learning about your abilities."  
>"It still saddens me they're like this......I swear, I will fix you all, somehow." Hydra's three heads whisper in unison. Meanwhile, Peridot thinks to herself as the ship draws closer to the surface. "Stars, she's still too focused on what she's done. If she keeps thinking the worst case about them, she may fall apart, or start lashing out. All the more reason to get this done as fast as I can."  
>Once the ship was out of the tunnel Hydra had dug down to get to the cave system, the pair had a clear view of the surface once more. Light pink power was beginning to settle back down on the surface of the world, already accumulated into a thin layer a few inches thick. Peridot brought the ship down onto the surface close to the tunnel's entrance, letting the hatch of the ship open slowly.   
>Peridot turned from the panel to look at Hydra directly. "I'm going to need your help for this part. Please, come to the panel."  
>"Alright." "Sure." "Be right there." Hydra's heads spoke as she put the gem she was holding down and made her way to the panel Peridot was standing next to.  
>When Hydra got to the panel, Peridot cleared her throat and spoke up. "Okay, here's what's going to happen. I'm going to use the tools stashed in my gem to make the adjustments to the gravity engines. When I call out to you, you'll press these buttons." Peridot moved her fingers, pointing to the icons on the display that Hydra would need to hit. "If I call out for you to stop the engines, you hit these buttons." Peridot pointed out a few more icons. "It's important you shut the engines off as fast as possible when I tell you to. If the engines get wrecked, we're in big trouble. Think you can handle this?"  
>Hydra nodded her three heads in unison as her middle head whispered out. "Yeah.....yeah, I can handle this. Should be easy to remember."  
>A smile crossed Peridot's face. "Good, I'll be counting on you." With that, Peridot gathered a few of the smallest pieces of metal on board and floated them out of the ship with her powers. Once she was out of the ship, she grabbed a hold of a piece of metal with both of her hands, then used her powers to float it all up to the top of the ship, clutching the piece tightly as she felt her body float off the ground. "Ugh, this feels so strange, floating like this. The less I need to do this, the better." she muttered to herself as the metal drew closer to the top of the ship.   
>Setting herself and the other bits down on the top of the ship's hull gently, Peridot pulled her tools out of her gem and got to work. using a this bar, she pried at one of the panels on the ship near the gravity engines, revealing the mess of wires within. "Here comes the tricky part." Peridot thought to herself as she set the bar aside and grabbed a screwdriver, some pliers, and a wielding torch, floating the tools around the open panel, working ont he wires within diligently. She knew what she needed to do, she needed to calibrate the engine to manipulate gravity in such a way that it'd not move the ship, but it would bring heat to the metals they needed to work with.  
>The process was not easy. The first time Peridot told Hydra to start the engine, the engine didn't activate at all. The second time, the engine completely vaporized the portion of metal Peridot had over it. The third time, the ship unexpectedly lurched forward, causing metal to slide off the ship and moving the vessel a few yards away from the hole to the cave. "We can move the ship back later. The important thing is to set the wires up the way we need them initially. Once I get that done, I can add new metal connectors and program a way to switch between movement and metal heating at will. "  
>It took Peridot and Hydra the better part of the day, the surface of the alien world almost pitch dark from the hours that had passed, close to ninety attempts at configurations gone through, a fifth of the metal they had harvested lost to vaporization or flung into the distance by the engines.   
>It was the eighty-eighth try that brought fruition to their efforts. The engine fired up, and heated the metal just enough to make it malleable. Peridot smirked as she manipulated the piece away from the engine with her powers and twisted it into the shape of a two crude pickaxes. "This will do for now. Now, to set up the other set of connections to serve as wires." she thought to herself before putting a few more pieces of metal into the engines, stretching them out into a long thin piece to serve as new wires, then calling out. "Okay, kill the engines, it's working properly now! I need them off for the next step."  
>The engine's died down, Hydra's voice carrying out from within the vessel. "Thank goodness you've got it! Nice work out there, I knew you could do it!"  
>Setting up the extra connections within the panel was easier than the work Peridot had done before. She actually knew the proper layout to repair a ship and get it airborn again, as opposed to turning gravity engines into a makeshift billows to heat metal up, which had never been done with the gravity engines before, to the best of Peridot's knowledge. She couldn't help but feel pride at what she had accomplished.  
>With the metal in place to serve as secondary wires, Peridot grabbed onto the two pickaxes she had made, and used her powers to float them and the rest of the unused metal down off the ship. She smiled as she set foot on the surface once more, setting the metal down and keeping the tools in hand as she re-entered the ship. "Now all I have to do is a little programming and we'll be set to return to the caves! Thanks for the assistance with the panel."  
>"It was no trouble." "Happy to help." "Looking forward to getting back to digging." Hydra's heads spoke out, smiles on her faces as she stepped away from the pile. She watched Peridot's fingers fly across the screens in a blur of movement, programming inputs being set into place, sending signals to the ship of what connections of wires to use with what key presses. Peridot decided to set up one button commands as she was reprogramming things, to make it easier to switch engine modes, to turn the engines off, and to start the engines up. It only took her fifteen minutes to accomplish what needed to be done. "There we are, the panel is reprogrammed and we're set to resume our hunt for materials. I'll show you the new commands you'll need to know. I've simplified them into one button prompts, this one to start the engines, and this one to stop them. The next step is to create external storage bins for the materials, so we can grab them with the ship's beam and transport more materials at once. What we have on hand is enough for a smaller bin at least, but we'll need a few more to optimize our trips. Does that sound alright?"  
>Hydra nodded her heads as her middle head spoke out. "Yes, it sounds like a good idea to me. Just give me the signal when you're ready to melt the metal again."  
>With that, Peridot exited the ship once more, and got to work using her powers to bring the remainder of the metal together, using the gravity engine to heat it up and her powers to ply the metal into a large and solid container. With the container created, the pair was ready to go back to the caves and resume their gathering of materials.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peridot and Hydra finish building a new ship, at long last.

>Hydra and Peridot spent the next few months digging within the cave system of the planet, gathering materials where they could and pausing when they had as much as they could carry up to the surface. The pair ended up making three more small bins to carry materials within, four bins being all the ship's tractor beam could handle holding at a time. Every time they would empty a load of materials onto the surface, Hydra would shift herself back into her larger reptilian form and head back into the tunnels to dig some more while Peridot worked the materials they had gathered into the shapes they would need to construct a new ship.   
>To her credit, the Peridot did work swiftly, and did do her fair share of digging after she had used the materials from the previous trip. She would use her metal powers to levitate a dozen pickaxes into the air, swinging them away with her powers in a rhythm to dig through the rocks she needed to dig through, almost matching the speed Hydra was digging at with her claws.   
>The pair stayed in contact as they dug, letting each other know where they were within the caves and when they had enough materials freed to fill a bin up. Hydra and Peridot were able to work in almost perfect harmony this way, knowing exactly when they had all the ship could carry in a trip, and taking the steps needed to dump the new load of metals and materials up on the surface.   
>Every so often, Peridot would have to go back into orbit while Hydra used her powers to once more clear away the powdery pink crystals that fell upon the planet's surface. Hydra had taken to using her gem weapon while still shapeshifted, a feat that amplified her attack power further, allowed her to gather more power at once and clear out a wider area with every blast.   
>The increase in her power in her shifted form had left both her and the Peridot in awe the first time she did it, the first time they could see the difference her larger form had made in her attacks. It was something Hydra deeply hoped would speed up the recovery process of the gems that she had trapped.  
>Finally, it was time. Hydra and Peridot had gathered all the materials they could from the planet, everything they'd need to build a sturdy outer hull for a new ship. The wires and the parts for the engine for the new ship came from the emergency repair supplies stashed away in the old one, each ship was given enough materials to rebuild the whole engine if it was needed as well as enough spare wires to rewire a ship, to save technicians time having to wait for replacement parts to arrive at the sight of a damaged ship. Peridot had removed one of the five control panels from the original ship to use in the new vessel, rewiring the old one to work without the extra panel, while wiring everything needed to fly a ship and operate the systems onto the panel she had taken. With the new ship constructed, wired, and a new engine built and in place, there was only one thing left to put into it before it was capable of space flight.   
>"You want to do WHAT?!" Hydra's three heads shouted in disbelief as she stared wide eyed at Peridot. The pair was aboard the vessel they had stolen to escape the gem controlled planet Hydra was created on, she herself was in her smaller humanoid form, the form she had started in.   
>Peridot eyed the flooring behind Hydra, the place she knew she needed to get to. "Calm down, please. This is what we've been working on. We NEED a power source for both ships, or all this effort was wasted and we can't go our separate ways like we agreed upon."  
>"There has to be another way." Hydra's middle head muttered out. "They.....using the gems I poofed as a power source for a ship seems wrong,,,,,,what if it hurts them? What if they crack from the strain?"  
>Peridot let out a sigh. "I understand your concern, but that won't happen. Gemkind has used the stones of dissipated Gems to power things for ages. It's not ideal to power a ship, but the alternative is far more dangerous."  
>"What do you mean?" "There's another way?" "Exactly how dangerous is it? If we can avoid using gems to power a ship.....isn't it worth the risk?"  
>"Stars NO! It's not worth the risk! The only other way available to us is if we split the existing power core. But doing that is far too risky. It could create an explosion that vaporized everything within a hundred miles of the blast! It could cause the power source to go inert, rendering it useless and leaving us back at using gems to power a ship, only this time we'd be stuck together because we're NOT going to be able to power two ships off of nine gemstones!"  
>Hydra looked at the gems piled up within the ship, then back to Peridot before letting out a sigh. Peridot looked at her sympathetically. "I know it's hard, but there's been no changes in their color. Right now, they're only good AS a power source." Then a thought came to her. "You know.....having a ship draw power from them too might help change them back faster. I know that's what you want to happen."   
>Hope shined in Hydra's six eyes at that thought. "You think it'll help?" "Will it really work?" "You're not just saying that, are you?"  
>A smile crossed the Peridot's face. "It certainly won't hurt them, I can tell you that for sure. Theoretically, it's a sound assumption to make, that drawing more power from them will heal them faster."  
>Hydra thought for a few moments more before she nodded her three heads in unison. "Okay.....I understand. How do we proceed?"  
>Peridot's smile widened. "There's two steps. One is removing the power core from this ship, and inserting it into the smaller vessel we just built. The other is placing the gems into a round container, fastening some wires to them and inserting that into the place of the power core. I'll wire all nine gems into the sphere and make it to where you can remove them easily, if you so choose to."  
>"Wait...why do we need to move the core? Couldn't we put the gems into the smaller vessel instead?"  
>Peridot let out a sigh. "We could, but.....the smaller vessel had to be programmed very complexly to work properly. No offense, but I doubt you'd be able to plot it. Since you're sure to want to stay with the gems you poofed, the only solution is to take the core out of this ship and insert the new core with the gems at the heart of it into this one. Don't worry, the ship we created together is sturdy. I'll be able to use it perfectly to get around, and I can always make adjustments as I go."  
>Hydra nodded once more, feeling uncertain about how safe the ship really was but having no other choice but to trust Peridot. "Is there anything I can do to help?"   
>"No, I'll have to do this myself. Removing and inserting a power core is delicate work. Wait a safe distance away while I work, and I'll contact you when I'm finished.  
>Hydra let out another sigh before she stepped past Peridot and out of the ship. She hated not being able to help, but she knew it was for the best. It kept her from seeing the process of inserting gems into a new power core, something she was secretly thankful she didn't have to witness firsthand.   
>From a distance, Hydra kept her eyes on the two ships, the one they flew to the planet on still a vibrant shade of red, while the new vessel was a stark contrast. The newer ship was only a third of the size, the hull was colored a swirl of grey, silver, and brown from where the metals had been layered together, twisted, reshaped, fused, and molded into a proper ship hull. It was rather rough looking, and part of Hydra felt guilty for letting Peridot fly off in it. She quickly pushed those feelings aside however, remembering that Peridot wanted to go off on her own, and that if she wasn't around, Hydra couldn't accidentally hurt her again. It was for the best in the end.  
>When Hydra saw Peridot carrying a glowing object from the red ship into the smaller ship, she felt excitement well up within her. Despite every other thought about parting ways with the only gem she had ever really known, she was excited at the prospect of getting off the planet and exploring space on her own. She knew she didn't want to stay on the lifeless world they were currently on, it's dreary caverns and dull icy pink surface had quickly grown boring, the only thing keeping her going had been the work that went into creating the new ship itself. She wanted to find a place she could really explore and experience, a place she could enjoy her time on.  
>After a few more moments, the communicator in Hydra's hands activated. Peridot's voice came through it. "The ships are ready, the power sources are in place. It's time to test your ship and make sure you can leave the planet."  
>Hydra hesitated before she answered back. "Alright. Heading to the red Roaming Eye now." She made her way into the ship, and towards the control panel. She activated the communicator once more. "I'm inside. Firing up the engines."  
>Hydra moved her fingers along the panel, inserting the command to activate the engines and to start the ship. For a moment, there was a low hum, and it seemed like nothing was going to happen. Then, the ship vibrated a little as the engines came online and the ship lifted off into the air.   
>From the communicator, Peridot's voice spoke out in excitement. "Excellent, the ship seems to be in perfect working order. Goodbye Hydra, our time together has been......insightful. I hope you can manage to restore those gems to their previous forms someday. Good luck."  
>"Goodbye and good luck Peridot." Hydra's three heads whispered out in unison as tears fell down her face. "I'll miss you. Thanks for everything you've done to help."  
>There was a brief pause at the other end of the line before Peridot spoke again. "You're welcome. I'll......I'll miss you too. Perhaps we'll meet again someday. Until then."  
>"Stay safe....." Hydra whispered out, before the line of communication was cut. Upon the planet's surface, the smaller ship's engine flared to life, lifting the ship up off the ground.   
>The two ships left the planet's atmosphere, the smaller one warping off almost immediately once it was the proper distance away from the planet. Drying her tears and smiling to herself, Hydra piloted the ship and activated the scanners. It was time to find herself a new home, and she was determined to make sure it was a lovely one.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What Hydra was up to in the years following her and Peridot's seperation.

>Over the next three thousand years, Hydra would spend her time exploring the vastness of space, settling down on worlds full of life, exploring them and discovering everything she could, and then moving on to the next one.   
>The things that caused her to move varied however. Sometimes, she was fortunate and managed to explore the whole planet, making careful records of the organics that lived there.   
>Other times, the planet proved to be too dangerous, even for her. Despite her formidable shapeshifting powers, she still had her limits. When an organic creature threatened her, exceeded the limits she could deal with without killing the creature, she would be left with no choice but to move on. She made special notes of the creatures that outclassed her, putting greater details into her records of them, and holding their forms in the back of her mind as potential forms to take in combat, should the need arise.   
>The most frequent cause of her fleeing a planet however, was other Gems showing up to begin colonization efforts. The first time she encountered such Gems, she had the idea to try and frighten them away. Using her reptilian form, Hydra would attack their base camps, damage their ships, poof gems, and do everything she could to drive them off without cracking or shattering anyone.  
>Her restraint however, was why her efforts never worked. With no real casualties to speak of, Gemkind sent in more batallions with the intent of exterminating the dangerous red creature that had attacked them. Severely outnumbered, outgunned, and not wanting to resort to entrapping more gems in a pure red state, Hydra was left with little choice but to flee the planet.   
>It wouldn't be the last time Gems showed up and made her move on. She tried scaring them three additional times, but was met with more resistance and more firepower every time she tried. After the fourth time, and a close call where her ship was almost shot down as she was fleeing the planet, she made a mental note to herself to flee a planet if Gems started colonizing it from then on.  
Despite having to flee from gems and dangerous creatures, Hydra enjoyed her journey among the stars greatly, and loved every discovery she recorded.  
>Of course, discoveries weren't all she was focused on. Hydra was still trying everything she could to revert what she had done to the gems she attacked, to try and get them to change back to their regular colors and reform. While her ship engines did draw power from them while she flied from planet to planet and used her craft to do an initial survey, she would also take a few gems out of the power core and carry them with her on the planet. Any time she found a barren spot on a world, found a place where she could release a lot of energy without having to worry about destroying or hurting too much around her, she would summon her microphone and focus her powers once more, creating a few large blasts in the area before moving on. Yet no matter how many times she used her powers to their full extent, no matter how long she spent shapeshifted, and no matter how long she kept the ship running, she hadn't yet managed to get any of the gems to change color from red, not even a small spec. Still, she had made them a promise, one she intended to keep, no matter how long it took.  
\-------  
>It had been three thousand two hundred fifty-seven years since Hydra had parted ways with Peridot and started her space journey. She had recently finished exploring a world to its fullest, the first one in a long time. She smiled as she maneuvered her ship away from the planet and out into open space once more.   
>Hydra was about to start plotting a course through the stars, when the control panel in her ship started flashing. She had never seen it flash before, and the words that were blinking on the display surprised and confused her.  
>Hydra looked at the flashing and whispered in disbelief. "Incoming message? But.....how? Why? I haven't gotten a message since.....since I was almost shot down on that one world."  
>Hydra hesitated for a moment. On one hand, answering it could inform whatever gem was sending the message out that she wasn't a normal gem, which inevitably lead to problems in her experience. On the other hand, not answering it could be just as bad for her, a lack of response could provoke an attack, or arouse suspicion. After a moment of hesitation, Hydra pressed the panel and input the command to open the message up.  
>Much to her surprise, an image flickered to life in front of her, but it wasn't the typical Ruby, Amethyst, or Jasper type gem she was accustom to seeing alongside the few transmissions she had gotten. Instead, the face looking back at her reminded her of the Peridot she had once traveled with, except this one had a gem where her nose should have been, her hair was shaped like a large drop of liquid, and her skin was a darker shade of green.   
>Hydra started to open her mouth to speak to the transmitted image, but the projection started talking before she could. "Attention all gems who receive this transmission. This is a recorded message being transmitted on all outdated channels, on the off-chance there are gems out there without access to newer technology. If you're seeing this message, rejoice! Gemkind has undergone a major shift. Gems are now allowed to choose their own paths in life, free of fear of being hunted down for being different. I implore those that hear this message, come to the gem colony or settlement nearest you, and see for yourselves how much things have changed! Peridot facet 6TD cut 4NN signing out!"  
>The transmission cut off, leaving Hydra with more questions than answers. "Gemkind has undergone a major shift? Gems aren't being hunted for being different? Does.....this mean I don't have to hide anymore? Will I be......welcome? Or.....is this a trap to lure in those that are different?"  
>Hydra thought long and hard about what she should do. On one hand, the promise of finally belonging with other Gems was heavily alluring. The things she could learn, the chance to upgrade her ship, and the prospect of maybe meeting her old companion again were tempting. On the other hand, if it was a trap, she could be forced to use her full power, forced to subject more Gems to a terrible fate of stasis. But......it also meant she might find a way to save the Gems that were still trapped within their stones as well.  
>The allure of possibly helping the ones she had hurt so long ago and updating her ship were too great. Her ship was in a rough state as it was, she had been growing concerned about how much longer it'd be space worthy. "If nothing else, maybe I can steal some parts to patch up my vessel." Hydra thought to herself as she plotted a course to the nearest planet she had fled due to colonization efforts.   
>Hydra made her way through space and approached the planet cautiously, looking for any sign that things were wrong, for any slight sign that she was in danger. She remained on alert even as she moved her vessel into the planet's atmosphere, flying through the blue sky and passing through some green clouds on her way towards the surface.  
>Only when she had a full view of the surface of the world did she relax her guard and gasp out in surprise. Miles below her ship, displayed on her surface scanner screen, she saw them. Gems were walking around and smiling. Quartz gems were holding hands with Peridots. Bismuths were being friendly with Agates. But most notable, there were gems that Hydra had never seen before. Gems with more than two arms, gems with more than two legs, and even a bright blue gem that had two heads on her body. A few of the odder gems she saw had more than one gemstone on their bodies as well, something she would later learn was a sign of gem fusion. Yet to her, all she saw were fellow gems that were like her, gems that weren't like normal gems, yet they were smiling and laughing and being accepted.  
>Tears started rolling down Hydra's three heads, wide smiles on each one. "It's true......it's really true. Things have changed. I......I don't have to hide anymore! I......this is amazing!"  
>With a smile on her face and excitement in her mind, Hydra piloted her ship through the skies, looking for a spot to land. She couldn't wait to see what she could discover, to finally interact with other Gems without being afraid, without having to fight, and without trying to scare them. She finally felt like everything would be okay from here on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is almost finished now. There's only one more part to go, but it'll have to wait for the new year.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hydra finds out about the Fight Clubs and how they work. Determined to have a string of strong opponents fighting her, she seeks one out.

>When Hydra first heard the rumors of the hidden fight clubs run by Pearls and for Pearls, she was hesitant about them. She understood all too well how important it was to be able to protect yourself, but she felt like having the clubs at all was a sign that the Pearls had no faith in the peace they were experiencing lasting. It was something she couldn't comprehend. The gems she met all seemed so happy with the way things were, and while she still caught a few odd looks from some of the previous elites, she still felt welcome among gems once she started to talk with them.   
>But something about them eventually sparked her curiosity. She heard that the champions of the individual fight clubs had to accept challenges from any Pearls for their title. With the gems she hit with her microphone still in their red state, and no real leads of how to free them, she came to a realization. If she was going to be expending power anyways, why not expend it helping out other gems? If she could help gems grow stronger, especially her fellow Pearls, shouldn't she?   
>It was with that thought in mind that Hydra followed up on one particular rumor of a fight club. A rumored ring where any style of fighting was accepted. Any abilities, weapons, and tactics could be used as long as it didn't involve intentional shattering.   
>It took Hydra a while to find it, but eventually, she managed to pin the location of the fight club down. Her search led her to a huge rock face, said to cover up the entrance, hiding it from anyone that didn't know how to get in. With a smile, she tapped the rocks in the star pattern she had been told about. After a brief pause, the large rock face shook, then split open, the halves sliding aside to reveal the cavern withing.   
>Slowly, Hydra made her way down the dimly lit tunnel, a low rumbling echoing behind her as the entrance to the tunnel slid closed behind her after a moment. As she progressed down the winding path, she could hear her footsteps echoing around her. The lights grew slightly brighter the deeper she went.   
>Eventually, Hydra arrived at a large opening, her three heads letting out gasps of surprise. The area was full of Pearls in all manors of shapes and sized. Some were larger than they should have been, two or three times a normal Pearl's height and sparring with each other. Others had strange appendages on them, some had large moth wings, others had four arms instead of the normal two, and a few Pearls were shifting their hands into blades to fight with. She was a little disappointed that there weren't any other Pearls with extra heads like she had, but she wouldn't be dissuaded by that fact. She had a goal in mind, and she'd succeed in it.   
>As she entered the area where the Pearls were sparring properly, she noticed the fighting around her started to die down. The Pearls around her stopped to look at her in surprise before whispering to themselves and resuming what they were doing. Only one Pearl didn't go back to sparring. Her body was a dark brown hue, speckled with white spots upon her skin. Her brown hair was short, barely six inches long and forming a small sphere on the top of her head. Her outfit was pretty simplistic, resembling the jump suits she had seen Quartz gems wearing. Hydra felt like the Pearl's yellow eyes were staring right through her as her own eyes lingered on the Pearl's six long arms.   
>The strange Pearl smiled at Hydra after a moment. "Not often I see a new face here, or faces in this case! Look at you, aren't you the unique one? Then again, we're all unique in our own ways, aren't we? Tell me, do you have a name, or still calling yourself a Pearl?" Hydra felt like the question was a challenge in itself, like the Pearl before her was measuring her up.   
>Hydra swallowed hard before she gave her reply. "I, I am Hydra. What...do you have a name of your own?"  
>The smile on the Pearl's face grew wider. "Well met Hydra! You can call me Widow. Here in this place, I am the champion! So, are you ready to learn from the best Pearl around?"  
>"A-actually, I came to ask you some questions...about how one becomes a ring champion? I hear you can challenge other ring champions for the right, but is there any other way?"   
>"The smile on Widow's face grew wider still. "Ah, so you seek to claim a spot as a champion! Well, if you wanted to start your own ring, you'd have to seek out the council of Pearls to get their approval. That process can be tedious if you haven't ran a ring before...some champions that get dethroned start new branches, new rings for the weapon or style they had already been teaching. But there's always one Pearl per style that's recognized as the strongest. For freestyle fighting, fighting with no restrictions, that's me!"  
>"I see...so the fastest way to get a ring really is to beat another Pearl, and they can make a new ring after. I wouldn't be stealing someone's purpose." Hydra spoke in a low tone from her center head.   
>"You sound awfully sure of yourself there. You should train before you set your sights so high newbie!"   
>Hydra shook her three heads. "No...I don't need to train." Her hands tapped the sides of her left and right heads simultaneously . Her left head spoke up. "You see, we've fought before." Her right head continued. "Took out two Topazes, three Jaspers, and four Amethysts at once one time." Her middle head finished up. "Scared the Rubies that were with them into running away. That was my first major fight. I'm capable of holding my own."  
>Widow raises an eyebrow at Hydra's statement, humming in satisfaction ."Well well, you've caught my interest. I suppose there's no talking you out of a fight then, is there?"  
>"No, there isn't. I formally challenge you for your title, Widow. Forgive me when I win, but I have my reasons for wanting this."   
>A laugh escapes Widow's throat. "Well if it's a fight you want, it's a fight you'll have! I'll show you that someone who's still in their Pearl outfit is too inexperienced to run a ring!" Then she looks around at the other Pearls. "Clear the floor! We have an official challenger here!"   
>The other Pearls stop fighting and move to the sidelines, murmuring to themselves as they move aside. Soon, it's just Hydra and Widow left in the middle of the clearing. With a flourish, Widow reaches into the brown gem in the middle of her chest and pulls out six long serrated blades, twirling one in each of her hands. "Well go on, summon your weapon! Let's get this party started!"   
>Hydra shakes her three heads. "No! My weapon is...I refuse to hurt the other Pearls here! They would get caught in the blast! I can take you on fine without it!"  
>"This will be over fast then!" Widow cries out as she starts to charge forward, swords swinging around her form as she moves.  
>The gem on Hydra's back glows as Widow approaches her, her body following shortly behind it. She wills herself to shift faster than she has ever shifted before, her form rapidly growing larger and twisting into the familiar reptilian form she enjoyed taking the most, her teeth growing sharper as her mouths stretched into large jaws. The leotard she wore was quickly absorbed into her form, hard scales sprouting up along her body. she dropped to her hands and feet as her hands and feet both reshaped themselves into powerful claws.   
>Widow eyed the transformation with a smile on her face, picking up the pace, determined to land a strike before her opponent finished shifting. She closed the gap while Hydra's body was still glowing brightly. With a shout, she brought all six of her swords down swinging to cut into Hydra's larger form's side.   
>Widow's eyes widened as she felt her swords connect with something far sturdier than she had expected. The light from Hydra's body faded as her form finished changing, revealing her monstrous scaled form to the ring champion. Widow jumped back from her strike and gritted her teeth as she looked over her opponent once more. "What....how?! No Pearl I know can enlarge themselves so much and be stronger for it! What are you?!"  
>Hydra's left and right heads grinned as her middle head spoke in a raspy voice. "I am Hydra, and I am a Pearl!" She started to charge towards Widow's position with a speed the brown Pearl wasn't expecting from something her side. She let out a cry of pain as she jumped out of the way a little too slowly, claws digging into her left leg, creating a wound that made her stumble and fall as she landed from her jump.   
>Widow winced as she tried to stand, the pain in her left leg from her wound making it impossible to do. In a panic, she started to scoot away from Hydra. "No...no! I won't go down like this!" With anger and determination, Widow started to summon and throw swords at Hydra in a blind fury.   
>Hydra winced as she felt the swords connecting with her form. Most of them were bouncing off of her harmlessly and clattering to the ground, but a few of them were sticking into the spaces between her scales. With a roar, she charged towards the fallen Pearl, closing the gap quickly and pinning the Pearl's six arms against her chest and on the ground, only pressing down hard enough to stop her opponent's movements. "Surrender. I have you pinned. You can't win."  
>Widow tried to break free, pushing with all her might, but to no avail. With a heavy sigh of annoyance, and a small voice of disappointment, she spoke out. "You...you win. I'll inform the council of your victory here. You're the champion now...new ring master Hydra."   
>Hydra lifted her limb up to let the Pearl up. She took a few steps back before she shifted her form back to a humanoid form, her orange leotard returning to her body once more. "Thank you...I promise, I'll teach the Pearls that come to me how to fight in many situations. No two fights here will ever be the same. I hope you can find a new place for a new ring of your own.   
>"I might get a new ring, but I won't rest until I've beaten you. Look forward to more fights with me in the future." Widow looked at Hydra with determination in her eyes.   
>Hydra's three heads nodded in unison. "I'll fight you anytime you want. But I won't lose easily."  
=======  
=EPILOGUE=  
>After another day of fights, another easy victory, Hydra made her way out of the main area of the cave and towards the inner areas, far deeper than most of the other Pearls who came to her ever ventured. It was a tunnel she had dug out herself, a private area meant only for her.   
>At the end of the path, nine red gems sat on a small table. Hydra gently picked one up and turned it over in her hands, sighing in disappointment as she saw no changes in it's color.   
>"I'm sorry you all aren't well yet. I wish I could do more to save you. Thank you all for your continued support I promise, I will find a way to make you all normal again. Someday, somehow...I won't give up on this."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thus we come to the end of Hydra's backstory. The new Pearl here, Widow, likely won't feature much in the main story, or get her own backstory, she's more or less a Pearl I needed to be defeated here.


End file.
